Half Life
by LettdViolet
Summary: Another Jackson/Holt story. Picks up in the middle of Ghouls Rule and takes a completely different path. Definite AU with modified characters and relationships (and, uh, plot too). Temporarily on hiatus so I can finish and revise.
1. New Salem High

Public schools were dangerous. Well, I amended, any school was, but normal public high schools like this were even worse. Laughter and conversation seemed too loud in the small hallways. The metallic clangs of locker doors swinging around echoed off the painted cinderblocks. Way more people than I was used to flowed in currents that I couldn't keep up with. Students wound this way and that in unintelligible patterns, some of them with their headphone volumes turned up to an uncomfortable level. I gave those kids wide berths.

The cacophony of noise almost beat a kind of rhythm, one that made... _him_ perk up inside my head. I winced and stopped listening. _He_ became silent and didn't fight. It appeared that _he_ knew how tenuous our situation was, too. If anybody found out that _he_ was there, we would be in lots of trouble, not to mention danger. The students here would hate us, the police would show up and probably arrest us... again, if my memories of _his_ night were correct. And that didn't even take into account the trouble we'd be in at school!

I did my best to match the walks of the other kids and pretend that I belonged. Hands in pockets, fiddling with headphones, head down, waving and nodding at the occasional person who made eye contact. Judging by the way I was dressed - glasses, sweater vest, converse - I belonged squarely in the "dork" category, maybe bordering on "hipster". Normally, it didn't really matter, but public schools had this weird thing about clothes and cliques. Nobody would pay attention to me unless I did something to draw it. I pushed my dark bangs down as far as they would go in an attempt to hide the tiny silver ring around my left eyebrow. That did _not_ fit into the dork image.

As I walked, I saw lots of kids passing around a photocopied poster with a black and white picture on it. I peered closer, then jumped back and walked faster. The papers were wanted posters, with _his_ face and _his_ name. I ducked my head even further. I needed to find somewhere to hide until school got out and people wouldn't question a teenager being out on the streets. A janitor's closet, maybe, or an empty classroom. I didn't need even more attention for being out in the halls during classes. I guessed that here, that would mean a trip to the principal's office or detention.

I was sure that everybody here could tell that I wasn't supposed to be here, that I had no idea what I was doing. But I tried anyway. It seemed to be going well, though - nobody looked twice at me. As well it should be, I reminded myself. I attended a public middle school like this for three whole years across the country, and even if I was out of practice, at least _part_ of me belonged here. I ignored _him_ in the back of my mind. I was normal, I was human. Me.

A very loud bell rang right next to me. I jumped, my hands flying to cover my hypersensitive ears, and stumbled right into a broad letterman jacket. The blond brute it belonged to turned around, a scowl on his face that might have been scare if I hadn't seen much more horrifying earnest _smiles_ at my actual school.

"Watch where you're going, twerp," he growled meanly. The hallway emptied out with the bell, a few kids sending me pitying looks as they passed by. One of the blond kid's friends, wearing a matching teal letterman jacket, chuckled quietly as the blond kid grinned.

"Um, s-sorry," I stammered, playing up my natural shyness. I'd gotten over it, mostly, but it wasn't too hard to adopt that veneer again. _He_ winced at the pathetic display, but I just shrugged internally. I needed to act the part, didn't I? It had been a while since I had needed to deal with bullies like these, but I remembered well enough: let them do what they wanted and hope they don't want background music and turn on their phones.

The blond jock grabbed the front of my sweater vest. His dull green eyes roamed my face, and I became hyper-aware of the bangs covering my eyebrow ring. If he saw it, however, he didn't care.

"You look new," the jock said. Dang it. I'd been trying to avoid that. "So I guess I'll have to teach you." He swung me around into the lockers beside us. My back hit the flimsy metal painfully. I felt _him_ wanting to fight back, but _he_ didn't have any control right now. I was sympathetic, since I knew well what that was like, but right now we were in agreement: _me_ was better right now.

"Never." The jock pulled me away from the lockers then pushed me back into them. My hands scrabbled at his, though I didn't try very hard. If I really wanted to, I could push him off of me, but that would bring more trouble than I think I could handle. The jock would let me go soon and think no more about me, if I just let it happen and acted the way he expected me to.

"Touch. My. Jacket." The jock punctuated each word with another bang into the lockers. My glasses fell off somewhere in there, so his fist pulling back was blurry, but I could still see it coming. The jock's ugly, huge friend chuckling grated on my nerves. I shut my eyes, gritted my teeth, and braced myself for the kind of bruise on my face that I hadn't had in an entire two school years. At least my glasses wouldn't get broken.

"Hey, Jake," said a new voice from behind the jock. It was feminine, but lacking any kind of emotion. Impressive. "Didn't Coach say you were on probation for this kind of thing?"

The jock - Jake - forgot about the punch and turned around, revealing the newcomer to me. I almost thought she was a monster, but quickly realized she was just goth. My high school had sure changed me. The girl's black eyeliner covered the space from eyebrow to eye, and I could see it all. She was looking down at her phone, which had a black coffin-shaped case. I almost chuckled. This girl...

While I had been looking at the girl, Jake had been busy thinking. I didn't know how many brain cells he had, but I was willing to bet I could count them on one hand. _He_ jeered at the insult and urged me to say it out loud. I refrained.

Finally, Jake made up his mind. To the protests of his friends, he dropped me, so I let my knees give out and dump me on the scuffed floor. He growled out loud at the girl, until her eyes flicked up and met his. They were light hazel, almost yellow. I smirked, then quickly dropped it and turned my head down before anybody could see.

Jake thrust an angry finger at the girl. "You'll get what's coming to you, freak."

"Oh no, I'm so scared." Her voice was still flat. "Hey, Jerk and company, why are you still here?"

After fuming for a moment, Jake turned around and kicked me in the stomach. When I came back to the world, he and his friend had left. I coughed.

"Clara," said the goth girl. She hadn't left, but was offering her pale hand to me. I looked up at her black-lined smirk, then grabbed her hand.

"Jackson," I replied. Clara's short black hair bobbed around her cheeks as she helped me stand.

As you can tell, this is nowhere near finished. I have 10k words or so planned, 8.5k written, and 3k edited. I'm releasing them about 1k at a time, probably about every week on Thursdays.

This story picks up in the middle of the movie Ghouls Rule, which had a couple cool concepts but ultimately sucked like most "canon" MH. Clara is my version of Claire. Nick is... whatsisname. You'll meet him next chapter. I thought making him a bit alt would be more in line with Clara's character.

So, uh, review please! I eat reviews for breakfast! :)


	2. Clara and Nick

"Are they gone?" said a boy, peering around the edge of the lockers.

"Yes, Nick, they're gone," Clara replied. She rolled her eyes, then handed me my glasses.

"Thanks." I slid my glasses back on, sighing in relief at the lack of blurriness it gave the world. Clara was still watching me. My heart jumped. Did I give something away? Did she recognize my face from the posters for _him_ that were being passed around earlier? I swallowed against her pale eyes.

"Your eyebrow ring rocks," she said with another smirk.

Oh. That was what she was looking at. I reached up to touch the ring, visible now beneath my messy hair. That had been _his_ fault, but I'd actually always liked it for reasons I couldn't quite express. Rebellion, I sometimes thought it was. _He_ felt smug at my admission. I told _him_ to shut up.

"Thanks," I repeated.

"You a closet punk or something?" asked Nick, joining us and looking at the ring with an appreciative gaze. His own ears were pierced and his nails were painted black, so I could see where the question came from.

"Uh..." Closet punk? I thought of _him_ , with his outrageous red leather jacket and questionable music taste. "Yeah, I guess a part of me is."

Nick grinned. "I knew we had something in common! Hey, do you like Vulture Kingdom?" I remembered that Vulture Kingdom was a human band that _he_ lliked. Nick pulled a pair of earbuds from his pocket. _He_ seemed to lean forward in interest, but for once, didn't whine to come out. I eyed Nick's earbuds warily.

"I like a few of their things," I admitted. If I knew them, he wouldn't try to show me what they sounded like.

"They just uploaded a trial of their new album Knives to YouTube!" Nick's face lit up even more and his eyes flicked to the screen as he started to type.

My heart rate spiked. I had to do something, fast. "Uh, yeah, I already heard that."

Nick lowered his phone and frowned. "Well, I guess it has been up for a few days already. But did you like it?" His earbuds and phone disappeared, and I relaxed a little bit.

"I did like it..." I reached back for _him,_ who knew more about Vulture Kingdom than I did (since _he'd_ actually heard them), but for once, _he_ avoided me. I winced at my carelessness. "The, uh, drum stuff was cool." Every band had drums, right?

"Yeah, except for that one part that they went back to the same pattern they've used over and over again." Nick seemed to be ready to start a debate, but at some point - probably soon - he'd realize that I hadn't actually heard the songs and didn't actually know anything about Vulture Kingdom. My back bumped into the lockers again, and even the soft contact made my burgeoning bruises flare up. I had backed up pretty far without realizing it.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Clara interrupted. I met her eyes. Yes, she was saving me, though from what, she didn't know.

"Aren't you?" I shot back gratefully.

Instead of looking cornered, Clara grinned. She gestured to my shirt. "With a sweater vest like that, _Jackson_ , I'd expect far less attitude."

I rubbed the back of my neck. She was onto me, and didn't seem to think I gave her the right name. I smiled sheepishly at her and Nick. "I'm homeschooled," I lied. "My name _is_ Jackson, but I don't always dress like this." It was sort of the truth. _I_ dressed like this pretty much all the time, but _he_ sure didn't.

"That explains it!" Nick said. I hoped he wouldn't start another musical conversation. He slapped my shoulder in a friendly way, though it hurt the tender muscles there. Luckily, the soreness already seemed to be disappearing. Yay for fast healing. "Oh, sorry, dude. But next time I see you, I want to see your style!"

I almost laughed. Punk style, huh? How did blue-skinned and obnoxious sound? _He_ scowled invisibly at me for the thought.

"So what are you doing here, at New Salem, if you're homeschooled?" Clara asked, drawing my attention back to her pretty yellow eyes.

I considered lying, which was a path that _he_ encouraged, but then decided that a version of the truth would be best. Or, well, less complicated, anyway. "The police thought I was sluffing, but I'm not. Since I'm homeschooled. I decided to stay here the rest of the day to avoid more attention."

Clara and Nick exchanged excited looks. Uh oh.

"What?" I asked suspiciously, narrowing my eyes.

"Let's all sluff!" smiled Clara. "We were going down to the catacombs anyway. Want to come with us?"

The catacombs? That might give me a free way back home, if I could somehow get away from Clara and Nick. That shouldn't be too hard, right? I shrugged to them. "Sure. If you don't mind having me along, that is."

"Of course not," cackled Clara. "The more the merrier!"

 _Happy Thanksgiving 2017!_


	3. Catacombs

It was surprisingly easy to sneak out of the high school. Clara and Nick knew all the little tricks, from hopping over one booby-trapped stair that would sound an alarm in the office to the "secret passage" that ran between walls. I tried to seem excited by the passages, as Nick and Clara obviously expected me to, but the truth was, my own school had so many of them I wasn't remotely surprised.

We made our way into a clump of bushes outside, where I started toward the parking lot and the hidden manhole cover that was an entrance into the catacombs. Nick and Clara didn't follow, so I turned to see them giving me funny looks.

"What?" I had another mini panic attack, like I got whenever anybody looked at me too closely. Apparently.

"The catacombs entrance is that way," Nick said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Where are you going?"

"Uh, not to the catacombs entrance under that manhole cover..." Smooth, Jackson. _Commendable_ save. _He_ rolled his eyes at me.

Clara's eyes widened, and her black lips twitched up in eager anticipation. "There's an entrance to the catacombs in our school parking lot?"

I hesitated, then nodded and sighed with defeat. "It's one of the easiest to use in this town."

"One of?" Nick asked with reservation. "As in, more than one? Er, more than these two?"

"Uh..." I was starting to see where I had messed up. I deflected the question. "How much time do you spend in the catacombs?"

Clara shrugged and crept forward to follow me. "Not very much. We've maybe been down there two or three times. But let's get out of these bushes before my tights snag or something."

I made a mental note to pretend to know less about the catacombs than I did, then led the way to the manhole cover. I could have easily pulled the heavy disk up myself, but that strength wasn't exactly normal, so I asked for help. With three of us, the cover seemed light and lifted off easily. Nick peered uneasily into the darkness, and Clara, too, seemed reluctant to climb down.

"How about I go first," I said quickly, hearing the sounds of police cars coming this way. With agreement from Clara and Nick, I lowered my feet into the hole until they caught on the ladder installed there. The thin metal rods shook a bit as I climbed down.

I reached the slightly damp ground, then Clara followed me. Nick came after her, then we looked up at the hole to the blue sky.

"We should do something about that," said Clara. She put a hand back on the ladder as if she was about to climb back up.

"I'll get it." I went up before Clara could and pulled the manhole cover back on, making a short show of grunting with fake exertion. The police sirens came a bit closer - had somebody seen me? Crap. The cover clunked shut over the opening, sealing us in complete blackness.

Nick switched on a flashlight and lit Clara's hands as she fiddled with some string. As I got off the ladder, she tied a complicated knot around one of the rungss.

"Standard procedure in case we get lost," she explained to me.

"Or a trail for the police to follow." I glanced around at the quasi-familiar crossroads of tunnels. I came this way sometimes, but more often, I used the portal by the gas station that was a bit less conspicuous.

Clara shrugged as she started down a large tunnel, flashlight in hand. "Dude, _we_ barely know about the catacombs, and it took weeks to find the other entrance in the bathroom of my neighbor's pool house. I don't know how you knew about this one, but the police are not going to find us."

"Besides," added Nick, tailing the group to shine more light where I was stepping. "Don't you think that if the police knew about this place, they'd be storming that monster school right now?"

My mouth went dry. "Uh, yeah. I guess so."

"I don't know why they'd do that," grumbled Clara. "I really doubt the monsters actually did anything."

Nick replied in a flat tone, easily conveying his disbelief. "Spray paint in the _monster symbol_ showed up on our school the day after those idiots Jerk and co egged theirs."

"We don't even know if it was them," Clara protested. We stepped around a particularly large spiderweb. I noticed with some discomfort that we were heading towards my school. Hopefully I could reroute Clara and Nick while breaking away... somehow.

"Might as well have been," said Nick. "same result, really. This town has been dying to get after monsters for years now."

"Wait, really?" I interrupted. Then kicked myself. It was probably safer if I just... stayed out of this conversation altogether.

 _ **AN:** So some fun stuff happens this chapter. Not much, but important conversation and probably some character building. Leave reviews, please! They motivate me to continue and honestly help me to be better. What did you like? What did you not like?_


	4. More Catacombs!

Clara sent me a raised eyebrow, though her flashlight remained pointing ahead and she kept walking. "Don't tell me you haven't' seen those propaganda pamphlets and TV commercials that've been getting worse the last few weeks."

"Of course I have! Don't be ridiculous." I didn't convince even myself.

"You live under a rock, dude," Nick told me from behind.

I abruptly bumped into Clara, who had stopped at a junction. Three different tunnels joined here, not counting the one we were still halfway in. The middle one led to school, I knew, and I hadn't yet decided if leading Clara and Nick there would be good or bad for me. Faint organ music wafted on the breezes from the middle tunnel, which I recognized as 'Etta's playing. _He_ loomed like a shadow in the back of my mind, but I knew that _he_ wouldn't be forced to take over unless there was a heavy and obvious beat. With stuff like 'Etta's organ, we could choose who showed up when.

"Which tunnel do we go down?" Nick swept his flashlight across the stone floor and readjusted his hold on the large spool of string that Clara had handed him.

"Listen for the organ," Clara answered.

"Uh..." I said articulately. Was Clara speaking from superstition or experience? Because she was right, the organ music helped me navigate down here. When 'Etta was playing, anyway. But I had really, _really_ good hearing. There wasn't any way that Clara could hear the organ from so far away.

Nick sighed. "Organ? What, some monster is just sitting in the catacombs playing an organ that just happens to be down here? Or, wait, even better, the _wind_ makes the organ noises."

I bit both my lips to keep from laughing. Clara sent us both dark glares that were only enhanced by her black eyeshadow.

"No," she snapped, then smiled spookily. "Rumor has it that the organ music comes from ghosts long since trapped under here by evil monsters long ago. Either way, if you follow the organ, you'll get to their school."

Nick made an interested noise, but I curled my toes in my shoes. They were looking for our school on purpose?

"Um, guys?" I said, my voice coming out squeaky. "I'm gonna go home." I turned around and started to march away, though I intended to just go back to school a different way. Before I got two steps, though, Clara caught my arms and prevented me from going any further.

"Don't be such a baby," Clara scolded. She turned me around to face the tunnels. "Do _you_ hear any music?"

I glanced around for Nick, but he was no help. He stood there with a flashlight in one hand and string in the other, an amused grin on his face. I scowled at him.

"Why do you want to get to the monster school anyway?" I asked, pulling out of Clara's grip. I was careful not to tug too hard.

Nick looked up at the tunnels, pointing his flashlight down each one in turn. "We just want to see what it's like."

"You don't have any pranks planned?"

"Nah," scoffed Clara. "Leave that to Jerk and company. We've just never seen a monster up close. We didn't even think they really even existed."

"There were some last night - " began Nick, but Clara interrupted.

"Proof that there really _is_ something at that old school. But we didn't get to ask any questions or anything." She turned to contemplate the tunnels again. I blinked, wondering at the ignorance of some people. Had they really not thought anything was in our school? It was ludicrous - I could have sworn that there were at least two explosions a week. Not to mention the really loud PE classes and stuff. Weird.

"That one," Clara finally decided, pointing down the middle tunnel. The one that would go to the school. Great.

"A-are you sure?" I said, hesitantly following her. Nick brought up the rear again, trailing thick gray string that extended into the darkness behind us.

"I swear I heard some music coming from down here," Clara insisted. I could almost hear Nick rolling his eyes, though I couldn't see his face.

"Whatever," he muttered good-naturedly.

Only a few minutes of walking later, and even Nick could no longer deny that he heard anything. 'Etta's pretty organ music filled my ears, giving power to _him_ , though he pulled away and let me have full control. For once. It was imperative that _he_ didn't reveal himself, even if he wanted to. Now that Clara and Nick had the school within their sights - er, ears - having _him_ come out would only bring trouble.

Clara raised her hand, stopping us. She tilted her head, listening. I looked around, barely breathing. We were very close to 'Etta's concert hall now - too close. If we continued on, we'd actually come across her and her organ, and thus the main staircase to school.

"Wait!" I whispered before Clara and Nick could sneak any farther forward. They didn't hear me over the organ, but exchanged excited looks. I grimaced silently, then raced ahead of them, trying to stop them. I'd think of something to say.

A metallic screech interrupted me. All three of us stopped, looking for the source of the noise.

 _Bang!_ Clara bit back a scream of surprise. (So did I.) Four metal fence wall things dropped from the ceiling just in front of me, trapping Clara and Nick in a sort of room. I was left outside, barely.

We stood in shock for a moment. I lowered my hands and straightened.

"Well," I whispered into the silence. "That's one problem solved and a dozen more created. Don't worry, guys, I'll find a way to get you out."

 **A/N:** _so that's that. Stuff has HAPPENED! Read and review! I can't tell you how much every review means to me :D_


	5. ‘Etta

"Jackson!" whisper-shouted Clara. "The music stopped!" She looked plenty more scared now than she had walking in here. Well, it was about time.

She was also right. 'Etta had stopped playing the organ, probably because she had heard the cage thing fall. It hadn't exactly been quiet.

"Get out of here, man!" said Nick, waving his hand at me.

I admit, I seriously considered it. But there were some problems. If I left, Clara and Nick would stay in the dark about me and my relationship to the school above us, but they would be found by 'Etta. While 'Etta wouldn't knowingly hurt anyone, she might take them above, which would land everyone in major trouble with the headmistress. I was... well, _he_ was in enough trouble normally as it was.

"Stay quiet and turn your lights off," I hissed at the two. They complied. I wound around a few of the columns and things that 'Etta wouldn't see Nick and Clara when she found me, then waited.

It didn't take long for her to show up. She carried an electric lamp, looking like one of the ones from the hallways upstairs. Her approach wasn't exactly subtle with that light.

"'Etta?" I called out. My hearing picked up on Clara's exhalation of fear behind me, and I realized that I hadn't moved out of their sight. They could see me, but 'Etta wouldn't see them. That was okay. They'd at least sort of know about me, but hopefully I could get them out easily, or at least get 'Etta to _not_ take them to the headmistress.

The lamp approached faster. 'Etta's saddle shoes clacked against the stone floor in a careful rhythm that was typical of the musical girl. _He_ took notice, though was careful to hunker down.

"Jackson! You're all raght!" 'Etta's Southern accent made me smile, as did her warm Southern hug. "We were really worried 'boutchu, darlin'! Rumor on the street was thatchu got _arrested_ by those human officers!" She let go of me and put her lantern down, revealing her bright red vintage hairstyle and worried lilac face.

I grimaced and rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah. I guess that part's true." I ignored _his_ confusion at the truth and the surprised noises that Clara and Nick made. "But, uh, Holt just took off his headphones while nobody was looking, so they let me out and... well, here I am."

'Etta hugged me again. "Wayll, I'm glad to see ya. Even if you're in a whole heap o' trouble fer vandalizin' their school."

"What?" whispered Clara. My eye twitched.

"What?" I echoed, pulling back. "I didn't do that."

"Wayll, honey, did Holt? Didn't cha know _why_ you were bein' arrested?"

I scowled in thought. _He_ vehemently denied everything I asked him, so I looked back up at 'Etta and shook my head. "He didn't do that."

'Etta looked doubtful. "Look, darlin', I know that he's not, well, a bad kid, but you've gotta admit he's got a mean streak a mile wahd. Can't he lie ta ya?"

"Well, not really..." I said, not quite understanding. "But I would have seen _something_ , right?"

'Etta's coffin-shaped phone was out of her pocket before I could blink. "Sorry, honey," she said. "But I gotta talk to him before I know fer sure."

I panicked.

"Wait!" I grabbed for 'Etta's phone, but she danced easily out of the way and pressed a button. It was "play". A strange song began playing out of the speakers, but I didn't have time to hear it before _he_ and I switched spots. I was forcefully pushed beneath what felt like a layer of plastic, and _he_ was pulled above it.

* * *

Holt was suddenly, unexpectedly, pulled to the front. By the time he was fully present, he had turned into himself - blue skin, flaming hair, bright red jacket and all.

It was a relief, since he resented being the secondary driver of his and Jackson's body, but he had a good idea of what was happening. And he was not needed right now. He ran a hand over his face, the cool metal of the eyebrow piercing - that Jackson kept, for some reason - comforting.

"'Etta!" Holt snapped. "What do you think you're doing?" He turned slightly and caught two pale human faces gaping at him from the corner of his eye. So that's where they were.

"Did you or did you naught vandalize the human hagh school?" 'Etta returned, evading Holt's attempts at stealing her phone.

"I didn't do anything to the stupid humans, you deformed freak!" Holt stopped to glare at 'Etta's stricken expression, his fists working. "Do you have any idea what you just did?" He felt Jackson inside freak out at the words, and let a tiny smirk onto his face.

'Etta self-consciously brushed her fingers against the shiny mask around her left eye.

"You can't do anything right," Holt continued, enjoying his moment of power. "You weren't even born right!"

With a step back, 'Etta bared her teeth. Holt saw tiny tears form. Good. He liked her and her music - even the insane psychobilly that had summoned him - but she had really messed up. Now those two kids, whatever their names were, knew who he was hiding inside and would blab to the world!

Abruptly, Holt turned away from 'Etta and marched back towards the cage. He had to set them straight. The two humans inside shied away at his approach, giving him a small sense of satisfaction. He crossed his arms. Jackson huffed in frustration.

"Why do ya have ta be such a ... jackrabbit in a bramble patch?" 'Etta stomped after him. She hadn't seen the humans yet, apparently. "And don'tchu walk away fr- "

She'd spotted the humans.

 _ **AN:**_ _So 'Etta has shown up. I like her. I did my best to recreate an American Southern accent, but I'm not quite sure I'm consistent. Or accurate. Leave reviews! I'd hate to think that I'm offending somebody or something. :(_

 _Have a marvelous day!_


	6. More ‘Etta

"Wayll," 'Etta said slowly, stretching the one syllable into two. "That explains whay this old cage dropped down." She stepped forward and wrung her hands. Holt stayed where he was, glaring at the two humans whose names he had forgotten. They were a danger and had to be dealt with.

"Hi..." 'Etta ventured. "I'm Operetta, but most people just call me 'Etta. Less pretentious." She stuck her hand out through the bars.

The boy with earrings hesitantly reached forward and shook her hand. "My name is Nick. She's Clara." He gestured to the girl beside him. She bumped him with her elbow, clearly not happy to be named.

'Etta beamed and pulled her hand back. "I do apologize for the, uh, cage. My granddaddy built a lotta human deterrents back in his day, when we were still at war. I thought I'd disabled them all, but I guess I forgot one." She laughed over the music that was still playing, then walked around the edge. The humans followed her movement with wary eyes. "Now, let's see about gettin' you folks outta there."

Holt suddenly looked up. "What? No!" He jerked forward to catch 'Etta's arm. "They saw me and that nerd Jackson together." The personality inside of him bristled at the insult. "It's true, you are a nerd," Holt snapped back. 'Etta raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind. The point is, the entire human town is looking for me. _Me_ me, whether or not I actually did that stupid spray paint thing. Jackson was the only defense I had, and you just gave that away!"

'Etta put her free hand on her hip. "So what d'ya propose we do? I'm not keepin' 'em down here forever!"

"No, just..." Holt huffed. "Deal with them." The dark look and little flame he sent up 'Etta's arm did not give any room for misinterpretation.

"Ow! Holt!" 'Etta pulled away and rubbed her burned arm. Jackson really flipped out, but Holt didn't pay any attention. He wasn't sorry and didn't pretend to be.

"I'm not kidding, 'Etta. They need to go."

'Etta chewed her lip, looking thoughtful, if pretty upset. Fairly confident she wouldn't attack him, Holt stepped back, his hands in the air. Disbelieving and truly scared noises came from the humans beside them. One of them whispered curse after curse.

Finally, 'Etta spoke. "Fahn, darlin'. Have it cher way. I'm gonna go get somethin'." She put a long finger in Holt's face. "Don't do nothin' 'til I get back. I won' be long." Holt relaxed as she clacked away. She was on his side, then. The ease with which 'Etta agreed to a double murder slightly surprised him, but she _had_ been raised by a bitter, single, human-hating father.

Then Holt jolted. 'Etta had abruptly stopped her music, leaving silence ringing through the catacombs. Holt was slipping, and Jackson was fighting hard.

"No!" With a snarl, Holt whipped around to face 'Etta. The movement and struggle for control made him fall. "They need to die!"

Holt scrabbled for the red headphones around his neck, but it was too late. A moment later, he had been sucked behind the murky window of Jackson's eyes and was forced to relinquish control.

* * *

I opened my eyes and slipped my glasses on, panting slightly from the change. _He_ raged inside me, not remotely happy. 'Etta stood in front of me, if the colorfully tattooed leg right there was any indication. And I was on the ground.

"What happened?" I rolled up onto my elbow. I ran a hand down my face, my fingers catching a bit on my piercing. I had a sudden urge to tear it out, but didn't. That wasn't my problem at the moment.

'Etta offered her hand to me. "Holt seemed a little... _meaner_ than usual. I'm sorry fer forcin' 'im out."

I winced and grabbed her hand to stand. "It's not your fault. _I'm_ sorry. He's been a bit... stressed out."

"Ta put it mahdly," 'Etta said with a raised eyebrow. "He wanted ta _kill_ those two there."

I stiffened and my heart raced, suddenly remembering Nick and Clara. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned around slowly.

"Ah almost believed he was gonna, too," 'Etta added grimly, stepping forward and putting a hand on my shoulder.

With plenty of reluctance, I cracked open an eye. Nick and Clara were still in the cage, pressed up against the far wall. They were watching me cautiously, as if I would suddenly flip out and attack them. Guilt made me close the eye again.

"He probably would have," I replied. "I'm sorry, 'Etta. And Nick and Clara, too. Sorry." I noticed the strange way that the names filled my mouth. Unfamiliar. Human. Was my name like that to others?

"Jackson." 'Etta gently hit the side of my head. She didn't sound pained by speaking my name. "It's not your fault. Ya ain't Holt, darlin'. Ya can't control what he does."

"I _know_ that," I sighed. "But I still hate it. He's been getting worse, but this is the first time he's wanted to actually _kill_ somebody."

 _He_ yelled incoherent curses at me. I knew he didn't mean it, not really, but I still winced at the onslaught. _He_ was just riled up, probably, and would calm down soon. It was tiring, shouting out like that. Thinking about it reminded me of my own tiredness, and the reasons I'd yelled at _him_.

"'Etta!" I grabbed her hand again and my eyes flew open. Sure enough, a hand-shaped mark on her arm was red and beginning to swell. I looked up at 'Etta's face in dismay, knowing she was hurt, no matter what denials she would fling in my face.

"Darlin', don't worry 'bout me." 'Etta gingerly pulled her hand away and looked earnestly at me. "The school nurses don't ask questions, and we've all gotten worse from our friendly neighborhood Heath."

"Still... I'm so sorry."

"Stop it, and I'm not kiddin', Jackson. Let's just getchur friends outta there before we all go insane." 'Etta walked halfway around the iron cage and pulled a lever.

Gears ground against each other, and the walls made a valiant effort to rise. But the noise died down with a clunk and the gates crashed against the stone floor again. 'Etta and I made eye contact. She wiggled the lever up and down a few times. Nothing happened.

"Uh oh," she said.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** sorry about the cliffhanger twice in a row!! Hopefully chapters will start getting longer. I just have limited access to computers so sometimes it's difficult. _

_to silverhexes: imo, even though Monster High is all "be unique! we're all equal!" it doesn't always happen that way. To me, there would be a complex sort of... social hierarchy, I guess, that nobody consciously follows, but that is there. There's still one "right way" to be, say, a werewolf, or a ghost, and somebody that doesn't quite fit the mold (like a fashionista girl who's actually a supergeek, or maybe like a nerdy boy who hates Magic the Gathering), might still be discriminated against. Equality and acceptance is the goal, and maybe these guys are farther along in that than our real life is, but there're still issues. Or, well, that is my opinion. :)_

 _\- and to Guest: Nick and Clara probably do think it's cool, or would if they stopped to think about it, but I dunno, Jackson's kinda a self-conscious, overworried little potato. XD_


	7. Hard Questions

**_Author's note:_** _As I've been revising the rest of what I have written of this story thing, I've been wondering how I'm going to bring it to a conclusion. And I think I've found a way! Rejoice! It's pretty much all blocked out now, too, and I just have to... kinda actually write the thing. It won't take too long, even though I got a new job that's been sucking away my extra time. Just wanted to let you know before this week's update. :) I'm pretty excited about it, and the little bits of interaction I've gotten so far really pushed me to try to figure something out for this thing. So, uh, keep interacting, and on with the show!_

* * *

"Don't tell me we're stuck." Nick's voice rang shakily from inside the four iron walls holding him and Clara.

"You're not," I replied, though I couldn't look at him and be convincing. "We have a few options."

"Like what?" Clara asked incredulously. "I don't see a door! Or a convenient _blowtorch_!"

"Now, calm down, darlin'. We don't have a door, but we do have some otha things," 'Etta comforted, coming to stand by me again.

I crouched close to the cage and slid my fingers into some of the decorative, tight ironwork. "We could try lifting it," I suggested, looking backward at 'Etta. "What are you, a three?"

"Four," Etta corrected with pride. She joined me near the floor.

"What do the numbers mean?" Clara asked curiously.

I spared a tiny glance at the two. They weren't huddled together anymore, even if Nick did look unhappy. Clara seemed to be less nervous, even though she was still trapped in the catacombs deep under a school for monsters.

"Strength levels," I answered shortly. "One is what a full-grown human man would be. Two is twice that. Three is three times. Et cetera."

"So what are you?" Clara continued.

I adjusted my grip on the iron and grimaced. "Somewhere between two and three, depending. Holt's closer to a seven, but I hope you understand if I don't let him help."

Clara's response was quiet. "Yeah, please don't."

"Ready, Jackson?" asked 'Etta, shifting her weight around. I nodded. "On three... One - two - _three!_ "

We lifted. The iron slipped a little under my sweaty fingers as I strained upwards. _He_ fought me the whole way, trying to pull back his help, so I didn't have as much strength as usual. I tried lifting with my back, with my legs, and with my arms, but the gates just lifted an inch or so.

"It's not - gonna - work -" I panted. "I'm - letting - go." 'Etta released at the same time I did, and now we were left in the same situation as before, but now we were breathing harder.

"Holt's not helpin', is he?" 'Etta guessed, panting. We sat down to rest a moment.

I shook my head.

"Hold up," interrupted Clara. The _question_ was coming, wasn't it? "Who _is_ Holt? And what on earth happened to you earlier?" Yep, there it was.

I debated how to answer. I had... mixed feelings about my, uh, duality. In some ways, it gave me comfort, especially in light of the original story of my great-great-granddad. I was the good guy, totally. I could more or less control the bad parts of me, something other people couldn't do at all. The long and short of it was that I really was split in a way that nobody really understood. So it was hard to explain to people, especially humans who didn't know the first thing about monsters.

I opened my mouth, then closed it. Twice. 'Etta bumped my shoulder, a question in her eyes. I sighed and shook my head. I wanted to answer, I just couldn't find the words. Fine. I just had to go for it.

"Holt's the bad part of me," I finally said. "He's kind of like a different person. I'm human, he's not, though I guess there's some bleed."

"That still makes _zero freaking sense_ ," Clara argued.

"I know," I grumbled. "Think of it this way: _he_ lives inside me, and comes out when we hear music. He's not always nice, even if I guess he's charismatic and has good taste in music. We get along okay, for the most part." I tilted my head and watched 'Etta's electric lantern glow. It wasn't very bright and did little to dispel the cold. "I'm the good side. _Holt_ is negative, by virtue of his existence."

"So... he's the Hyde to your Jekyll."

I snorted. "The original Dr. Jekyll was my great-great-grandfather. The potion he took manifested itself again in me."

"But that's fiction," scoffed Nick. Clara tried to bump him. "Nobody can _actually_ separate good and evil personalities from one another. There's no way to break up a person's psyche. Not to mention the complete impossibility of a gene that... dominant-sounding skipping that many generations."

"If the default for the gene is 'off'," I shrugged, "it's perfectly possible. My mom probably switched it back on in me."

"I'm not sure - "

Nick was interrupted by the distant sound of the large school bell clanging. Even he and Clara could hear it.

"School's out," 'Etta remarked before I could.

"I hope nobody minded that I skipped the whole day."

"Wayll, seein' as everybody thinks _Holt's_ the vandal, it's probably a good thing you're not there."

I grunted in response. Silence filled the space between our words, or at least the sort of silence you could get down in the catacombs. There was a river somewhere down here, and now the sounds of students filling the halls echoed around, creating a weird sort of ambient noise. It was relaxing. I didn't... really... have many... ideas...

* * *

"Mornin', sunshine," greeted 'Etta when I finally lifted my head again. Had I been sleeping?

I grunted and checked my watch. Just under an hour had passed. At least _he_ was still asleep, earning my headache some respite. "Any progress?"

"Nope," replied 'Etta with flippant frustration. "I'm not havin' many ideas that're workable." She sighed.

"Could be worse," said Nick quietly from behind me. I turned and saw that Clara was sleeping on top of Nick's legs. He was probably speaking quietly to avoid waking her. One of their flashlights was on and sitting on the ground, its beam illuminating nothing more than more stone arches and buttresses. "It could be really cold or flooding or covered in bat crap. We could be in _class_. Now, I don't know what your classes are like here, but at Nerd Salem, they're coma-inducing."

'Etta cracked a grin. "I think that's pretty universal. Zombie class - er, the language, that is - " she clarified, "is about as borin' as watchin' paint dray. Worse, in my humble opinion."

"I don't have to take that," I sang, keeping my voice down for Clara's sake. Then I paused. "Is it true that Mr. Lich's room has a trapdoor leading down to the catacombs?"

"You guys are weird." Nick regarded us with a strange expression.

I snorted. "And you aren't? I heard some kids there talking about a photography class. Why in the world would you need to know _that_?"

"Jackson," interrupted 'Etta. "Mr. Lich's room _does_ have a trapdoor. Raaaaght there." She lifted a purple finger toward the ceiling of the cage, which looked to be solid stone. When I have her a look, she just shrugged. "Makin' him mad is just about the easiest way to get outta class and down here."

"A trapdoor," said Nick flatly. "A hole to the monster school right above us. Monsters who may or may not like us."

I shot Nick a good-natured glare. "Now you know how _I_ felt. If it gets you out of there, it's worth a shot, right?"

"Let's at least try the lever again," he pleaded.

'Etta stood and pulled the lever one more time. Nothing at all happened. She shrugged at Nick. "Sorry, darlin'."

I followed 'Etta to my feet. "We can head up there and drop a rope down or something. Then we can sneak out into that one locker passageway and back down here."

Slowly, 'Etta nodded in agreement. "There shouldn't be _too_ many students walkin' around this late, anyway, but it's not against any rules or nothin'. We should be in the clear." She fetched the lantern. "If you hear any noises, Nick, turn your laght off and be quiet. I can't guarantee there's nothin' down here, though they probably won't get to ya in there."

"Wake up Clara soon," I added. "And don't worry. We'll get you out of there, I promise. Even if it takes us all night."

"It better not - Halloween's tomorrow," Nick grumbled, but he did sound nervous. He looked up, finally, and met my eyes. "I trust you, I think. And... good luck, if you think you'll need it."

"Oh, we'll need it," I muttered to myself as I followed 'Etta's bouncing lantern and rhythmic shoes away.

* * *

 **AN:** _Yay! Hopefully, updates will begin to come in larger chunks from now on. I just have to get on a computer, which is hard sometimes. Favorite/Follow/Review to tell me your thoughts, since I really love hearing them. :) Oh, and in case you're worried, there's still plenty of story, even though I've figured out the ultimate ending. My first draft, edited and cut slightly for posting, is at about 12k words at the moment, and the story's not over yet!_


	8. Escape

"So far, so good," I muttered as 'Etta and I crept into Mr. Lich's darkening classroom. Four large windows to my left showed the dusky sky and fading light. The layout of this room was just like all the other normal classrooms - tiered rows of tables with stairs against both walls.

"Knock on wood," answered 'Etta quietly. She glanced suspiciously around as she walked silently down the stairs. "We're not outta the woods yet, Jackson."

I followed her, a thick rope stolen from the gym closet wrapped around my shoulder. "I know, I know. I'm just anxious is all."

'Etta put her hand on top of a gargoyle on Mr. Lich's desk and gestured for me to back up. I looked down and realized that I was standing right on top of the trapdoor. Whoops. I stepped back quickly.

The gargoyle head tipped back with a squeak, and the wooden switch underneath clicked. The trapdoor split along a seam in the middle and the two sides swung out with a loud bang, making me wince. I smelled catacomb air coming from the dark hole, not altogether unpleasant.

"Nick?" I whisper-shouted down. "You there?"

"Jackson?" came the answer. Nick wasn't bothering to keep his voice down, but he was far enough away that the distance lowered his volume.

"Here!" I said, a little louder.

"Oh, good," said Clara, apparently awake. "I'm done being down here. How are we gonna get out?"

"We've got a rope up here, darlin'," 'Etta replied for me as I clipped the huge carabiner at the top of the rope to a table leg. The tables were bolted down, so I was reasonably sure it would hold. "Either of ya good at climbin'?"

"Ehh," said both Nick and Clara. I smiled and tugged on the rope to test the carabiner. It looked like it would work.

"Just hold on tightly, then," I called, then tossed the rope down. It was the longest rope available, so it hit the ground with a slap down below. Clara squealed in surprise.

After a minute or two and some exertion, Nick and Clara were both safely sitting on the classroom floor. I pulled the rest of the rope up as 'Etta flipped the gargoyle head's switch again, which ground the gears together until the trapdoor had closed.

"We've gotta move," she told us, helping me coil the rope on the floor and unhook it from the table. "Just because nobody's around raght now doesn't mean they won't be."

I straightened, still a little winded from the lifting. "Are we just leaving the rope here? Mrs. Karkadann won't like it being missing."

''Etta shrugged and helped Clara to her feet. "She'll just haveta deal with it. We don't have time ta return it."

We quickly ascended the stairs, and I poked my head out the door. The hallway was empty towards the left and it ended in an arched doorway to outside on the right. I opened the classroom door wider and allowed the others to follow me.

"Why don't we just go out the doors?" whispered Nick as we walked the opposite direction. "They're right there!"

"More people outside," I answered. "Plus the way to town through the woods isn't as easy as the catacombs."

Clara jerked her hand back when a spider scurried across the wallpaper near where she'd been trailing her fingers. "How do we get back down there?"

"Take your pick," 'Etta shrugged. She picked up the spider from the wall and let it run over her hands like I used to do with pill bugs. "The cafeteria trash chute goes straght to the tentacle monster that lives down there. There's the cellar door under the venomous rosebushes out front. And there are otha various portals around campus, including one through the mirror of the girl's bathroom - "

"We're headed to the lockers, though," I interrupted. "Easiest to use."

"Also the most boring," complained 'Etta. She put the spider back on the wall, where it joined several others. Clara looked vaguely disturbed, but didn't say anything.

We made it to the locker hall without incident, unless Nick realizing the walls were crawling with spiders and nearly screaming counted as an "incident". The locker hall was true to its name, with purple coffin-shaped lockers lining the walls, even if it was more of a labyrinthine network rather than a single hall. Plenty of windows at the top of the walls let in ambient sunlight. The light was waning, but the mismatched electric lights had begun to switch on at random.

The catacomb entrance there was deep into the network. 'Etta led us true, though, and didn't once make a wrong turn. I always got at least a little bit lost in here. That deep into the locker hall, the purple lockers faded to mauve, then to beige, and their shapes fluctuated before settling on rectangular. It was like the school had never bothered to tear out the old lockers and instead just kept building new halls until the human-like ones were buried under layers of dust.

There was one locker, however, that was mostly clean. The floor in front of it was shiny, too, from years and years of use. A built-in combination lock barred the way, but most of the students, or at least the ones who consistently visited the catacombs, had figured out the code long ago. 'Etta, of course, was among those that went very frequently, though I think usually she found other entrances.

"Why are you opening a locker?" asked Clara, folding her arms. "We don't need any weapons, do we?"

'Etta laughed. "No, darlin'. This is one of the doors to the catacombs." She finished the combination and swung open the tall locker door. It opened onto a narrow set of stairs headed down. Warmer, wetter air wafted up through the doorway. 'Etta turned sideways and edged through the locker door.

Clara and Nick exchanged glances. Then Nick shrugged and followed 'Etta, squeezing through the door before finding that the stairwell on the other side was a bit larger. Clara took a deep breath and did the same. Their footsteps echoed softly as they descended.

' _Kill them_ ,' _he_ snapped at me, having woken up enough to realize what was going on. I winced. Wonderful - as if I needed more stress. I stepped onto the stairs after Clara, closing the locker door behind me. It would have shut us in darkness if Clara and Nick hadn't pulled out their flashlights.

At the end of the stairs, a tall archway loomed while a plaque announced certain death in a few different languages. 'Etta reached out and touched a grotesque's claw as she passed, and I did the same at the back. The single claw shone from years of rubbing for good luck. Nick and Clara glanced at each other between us, their lights showing the way.

'Etta led the group back to her organ. I supposed it was a sort of home base for her, as it was for me. As we passed the ornately carved console, she ran a loving finger across the keys.

"'Etta," I warned her as her hand hovered, poised to play a few notes. She glanced back at me, longing in her eyes, then sighed and dropped her arm.

"So... any music sets you off?" whispered Clara to me. Nick bumped her accidentally-on-purpose, as if she had committed a serious faux pas.

I rolled my eyes at Nick, even though he was facing forward and couldn't see me in the darkness behind him. "Sort of," I answered Clara. "Only music with a heavy beat forces him out, like most pop and stuff. With other music, like 'Etta's organ or classical or whatever, we have a choice."

"Huh, interesting." That was all Clara got out before she bumped into 'Etta, who had frozen.

A pillar blocked my view of the cage that Nick and Clara had been stuck in earlier, so I slipped past Nick and stood next to 'Etta. Then I froze, too.

 _ **A/N:** Come back next week to read more, as always! :D I'm still going strong and there is a conclusion, so follow me!!_


	9. Others

_**AN:** this one... has some angsty and dramatic things. I'm over here laughing my head off. XD _

_Also, sorry for the later-than-usual update. Computer access has been spotty, and I'm nervous about posting more. (Both because of the possibly cringey content and because I only have so much written and don't want to catch up yet!)_

* * *

The thick gray string that Nick and Clara had trailed behind them to mark the way back to town was in the hands of none other than Cleo, the queen of the school. Her golden jewelry and arm wraps glinted in the light of the two soft flashlights. Unexpectedly, Venus with a spiked leather jacket, and Holly with all the earrings that entailed, were standing by her. I was a little incredulous. Usually, Cleo kept different company. All three of them were staring at me and 'Etta, and, I noticed with a wince, Nick and Clara behind us.

Quickly, Cleo regained her normal composure. "Oh, look. Humans." Her voice was level, unsurprised, but she wasn't as good at that as Clara was. She turned her kohl-lined glare on me.

"Jackson. I always knew you'd turn traitor." There was no real bite behind Cleo's words, since she didn't seem to really be invested in the insult, but it still hurt. I'd always been a little self-conscious, being human at a monster school, even after _he_ appeared and validated my presence.

Cleo wasn't done. "But Operetta? You too? I wouldn't have believed it." Holly growled deep in her throat.

I knew that they were waiting for an answer, but my throat was tight and I couldn't make a sound.

"He's not a traitor, and neither am I!" 'Etta's voice rang out, almost melodically. _He_ pushed forward at the miniscule bit of power, and I grunted at the headache that was coming on.

"Oh, really?" Cleo replied, her voice dripping with false surprise. She dropped the act almost as soon as she'd started it. "And that's why there are two humans behind you right now. Oh, I'm sure it's just an accident. You didn't _mean_ to lead them directly here."

"There were... _circumstances_ ," 'Etta spluttered. I sent her silent encouragement. She hadn't even heard the whole story, and she was willing to stand up for me.

"Hm, really?" Cleo sounded disinterested. She looked at the string she was spinning between her dark fingers, gold and jewels shining.

I finally jumped in. "They just wanted to _explore_ , Cleo."

"We weren't doing any harm," Clara added pleadingly.

"Uh huh." Cleo seemed to be wavering, but she changed the subject and looked at me again. "And how did you even get here? Last I heard, you were arrested by the human police."

Huffing, I ignored the subject change and played along. Maybe we could wear her down or something. " _I_ wasn't, Holt was."

Cleo blinked slowly. Her demeanor shifted from "possible ally" to "cat who's seen the treats and knows how to get them". "Same difference," she said.

I scowled. Of course, I'd had that flung at me multiple times, often unintentionally. But Cleo knew better - she was close friends with Kay, who'd helped me figure out this Holt stuff when it had first appeared. She knew we weren't much alike. Yes, Cleo knew better, and that was why she had said it. Her eyes gleamed with mean satisfaction, then flicked to the darkness behind me.

"Get them," she snarled. The string dropped from her hands as she posed to watch the drama unfold.

Venus stepped forward, her hands suspended in the air like a puppet master. I whirled around at a bright flash to see my cousin Heath, full-blown fire elemental, wrap a ring of fire around Clara and Nick. To the side, 'Etta stumbled in the sudden undergrowth around her feet, and ferny vines and flower stems wrapped up her body, stopping her in her tracks. I stepped back, surprised at the coordination.

I was hit from behind by something large and strong, pushing me violently to the ground. The cold stone bit right through my sweater, and my head banged against the ground faster than I could blink. My vision turned white for a second.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, dude," said the mass on top of me. I barely heard the sounds. Did I have a concussion or something? "Didn't mean to knock you over." I noticed that I was standing now, or at least sort of.

"Geez, I'm sorry," I heard from behind me. I shook my head, trying to clear it. It didn't actually help. Holly stood nearby, her clothes glowing in the semi-darkness. She seemed to have been ready to attack me, too, but she was just standing there now, having a silent conversation with the hulking werewolf behind me - her brother and my friend, Clawd. His hands were tense around me, ready to hold fast if I tried to get away. I wasn't going to. Vaguely, I wondered if the pounding I heard from my blood was musical enough to pull Holt out if he fought.

" _Holt_ ," said Cleo as she strode over self-importantly, "is our ally. Howleen, I'm sure you have something suitable on your phone."

"It's _Holly_ ," Holly grumbled as she grabbed her coffin-shaped phone from her back pocket and started to fiddle around with the screen. "Howleen is such a stupid pun."

"Wait, no," I interrupted, more panic bleeding through than I wished it were. Holly looked up curiously, her thumbs hovering. "Holt's not - Don't - " I cut off when my vision whited out again. Belatedly, I realized that _he_ had been attacking me since I'd hit the floor. Apparently the blood pounding _was_ rhythmic enough.

I tried another tactic. "Heath, Clawd, come on, don't you guys trust me?"

"Dude," came Heath's crackly voice from farther away behind me. "You _know_ we're antsy about humans right now, so close to Halloween. I think Cleo's the only one who thinks you're a traitor, but couldn't you've held off your Dora the Explorer reenactment for a few days, at least? Or something?"

"This isn't my fault!" I repeated.

"It's really - " started Clara strongly, but when everybody turned to look at her, she broke off and finished very quietly. " - not..."

Cleo shook her head. "It doesn't matter whose _fault_ it was." Her voice was frosty, if only just. "We can't trust any of you right now. Go on, Howleen."

"Holly."

'Etta broke in. "Ya can't trust _Holt!_ He's not usually that bad, but right _now..._ Holly!"

The music that Holly had begun to play wasn't very loud, but it was enough. She gave me a "so what?" look as _he_ eagerly climbed up and over me.

 _Woo for that. Bloop._

 _Review!! :'D_


	10. Fire!

_**AN:** This chapter builds quite nicely on the eventual end plot. I didn't start this fic with the intent to go so far, but now that I've decided what the ending will be like, the story will hopefully have more of a... continuous flow to it. There's the story you plan to write, the story you actually write, and the story you wish you'd written. I think that's why so many fics and first drafts seem one way at the beginning and _then _they get into the "good stuff". Mine is no different. XD_

 _I also have to apologize for getting this out late. I didn't know if I had an update lined up and ready to go. (I did. I thought I didn't but I did.) I've got to do next week's now! Wish me luck_

* * *

Immediately after Clawd let Holt go, Hold pulled on his headphones and switched on his secret MP3 player. This one had an extra-long battery life, up to twenty four hours of continuous use. It was stocked with some good songs, but the most-played track was a solid bass line, plus minimal treble. It kept Holt solidly in control but undistracted by his awesome music. A headache had carried over from Jackson, and the beat wasn't helping, but Holt was not about to press pause.

He looked around him - Holly, Clawd, Venus, and Cleo stood around, watching him. All people who would side with him. Oh, and Heath, but really, if he ended up putting up a fight, Holt would easily win. He couldn't be burned and his strength far surpassed his cousin's.

Clawd spoke first. His voice had the slightest tremble, which he probably didn't know was there. Why would Clawd be nervous?

"Hey, Holt. How're ya feeling?"

Holt continued to size up the situation. The nuisance humans were cornered, good. Even better, 'Etta wasn't able to stop him. She was squirming fiercely, and growling, but even as Holt watched, more plant matter crept up to keep her still. He felt a touch bad for that, but only for a moment. He winked at Venus, who smirked back. 'Etta glared.

"Wee-eell," he sang in response to Clawd's question. A smile grew on his face. "I'm doin' real well." Holt turned to face the humans - the ones who would completely mess up his life if given the chance.

"But them? They're _dead,_ " he continued. Someone - he didn't see who - stepped backward. The nerd stormed inside, but he didn't have any foothold. "I'm doing this for you, too, you idiot," he whispered. Somebody tried to say something in protest.

Holt approached the ring of fire that held the two humans, the others coming up behind him. He pretended like they weren't there and raised a glowing hand. The trapped girl opened her mouth to make some noise.

'Etta beat her to it. "Come _on!_ Ya can't be this _stupid!_ "

"Wait, Holt - ?" started Venus.

That was the trigger. With everybody briefly distracted, Holt let loose. A string of flame went right towards the girl's open mouth, and Holt thought of how relieving it would be to see her melt. No threat to his life or well-being any more. Just one pile of charred bones, ash, and eyeliner.

He didn't expect the ring of fire, still maintained by Heath, to suddenly redirect itself to absorb the blast. Holt stopped firing in utter shock. He blinked. His cousin... was defending the humans. And the humans were standing there, just waiting to be barbecued. Holt grew warmer in anger, clenching his fists. The fire, both Holt's and Heath's, disappeared suddenly and completely. It became very dark, an afterimage burning in Holt's eyes.

"Don't try to stop me, Heath." Holt spoke lowly, dangerously. He was stronger than anybody else in here, and he wanted them all to remember that. Even if most of them did have his back. "Don't betray your own cousin! These... _humans_ deserve it!"

"So _they_ were the ones who vandalized our school?" asked Cleo, eyeing the two with disdain and some confusion.

"I don't know," spat Holt. "I don't care. No human deserves to keep living." He wasn't sure where these strong feelings came from, but he didn't resist them. It felt _right_ , somehow.

'Etta interrupted again. "What about Jackson?"

"That nerd? That _idiot_? That... that... absolute pile of math books?! Especially him. If he went away... imagine what I could do." The nerd stopped his weak swirling around in their head for a second, horrified.

"Like what?" said Clawd incredulously. "DJ the night away? You already do that."

Holt scowled. "No. Other things. Like - like - " he struggled for an answer. What _did_ he want to do? Something violent, for one. Holt felt like smashing something that could bleed. He turned his eyes on the humans, who were trying to back away. The answer came to him. "Like killing the rest of the humans. Starting with these two."

He stepped forward, but Clawd's hand clamped over his shoulder. It couldn't really stop him, but Holt let Clawd and the others think it could. For now.

"Why do you care so much?" Venus asked, sounding betrayed.

"Everybody here thinks I spray-painted their school," Holt snapped. He followed Heath with his eyes, watching him step between Holt and the humans. Right. Like that would stop him.

Cleo made a disgusted, disbelieving sound. "So you didn't?"

"No! But everybody is after me anyway, and my only defense was that good-for _-one-_ thing Jackson. But now, these two... they know. They'll tell." He scowled at them.

"No, we won't!" burst the girl in black. It was too dark for her to see, even with Heath's flickering hair, so her eyes jumped around. She was scared. "We'll keep your secrets safe, okay? We were going to from the moment we found out!"

Holt sneered.

"Besides, the worst that would happen is Jackson getting arrested." Holly finally piped up, having turned her own music off and figured out what was going on. She crossed her fishnet-covered arms. "We can deal with that."

"You obviously haven't met the human chief of police," Holt countered. He shook his head. "The chief of police over there doesn't just want me arrested and tried. He has a massive grudge against all the monsters, and you can bet your butt that includes Jackson. I wouldn't put it past him to kidnap me or kill me or worse. From what I could tell, he might even get the townspeople to do the same. To _everybody!_ The only solution is to kill them all!"

"That's not - " Clawd began, but Cleo cut across him with soft, cutting words.

"Could it be true?"

Holt opened his mouth to answer. Then he noticed that her eyes were fixed on the humans despite the dark. They didn't say anything, likely not knowing that she was talking to them.

"Of course it's true," Holt said.

"I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to _them,_ " Cleo snapped. Holt stopped speaking, sure of the answer. Even 'Etta bit her lip and watched the humans, waiting.

The human girl looked up in realization. She licked her lips and took a breath to speak, but froze. The boy's mouth was pursed into a tiny line, and he looked pointedly away from the small amounts of firelight. His arm wrapped around the girl's shoulders for comfort.

Seconds ticked by in silence.

Finally, the girl covered her face.

"Of course it's not true," the boy answered for her, though his voice was laughably frail.

It was like a play button had been pressed. The others began to breathe and move again, and Cleo leaned away.

"You're lying." She sounded stunned.

With a dark smile, Holt spoke. "You see now why they have to die." He reached into his pocket and grabbed the multi tool he kept there in case of music equipment emergencies. Its knife blade was short, and wouldn't do too much damage, but it would make somebody bleed. Preferably a human, but Holt would take what he could get. He easily slid away from Clawd's grasp with a rip and charged toward the humans. They were only a few feet away - and - _Bang!_

Holt fell hard. His elbow cracked against the floor, but he wasn't about to let that get in the way. Stupid. Yes, Holt did have the highest strength rank here, but he wasn't the fastest. That honor probably went to Holly, but Clawd was certainly a close second.

"This is wrong," he heard Cleo say, her act of confidence beginning to break down. "I don't... I don't know..."

Clawd was doing his best to keep Holt down. No matter - it was simple enough to throw the beast off him and get back to his feet. His fist gripped his multi tool tighter. Heath stayed where he was - _protecting_ the humans - but others approached him from behind. He didn't care. He only had eyes for the two annoying humans who looked terrified. Ha.

With annoyance, Holt noticed that they were beginning to really see what was going on. With the slight but uncontrollable glow of his hands, they would be able to track him. He raised his hand outward and sent a small, concentrated ball of fire careening into the air. The bright flash disoriented them. Heath blinked and looked around wildly. Smiling again, Holt leaped to a different angle to attack the humans again. One had fallen in the chaos.

Unfortunately, ignoring the others had been a mistake. Holly threw herself at Holt's legs, knocking him over for the first time in as many minutes. Holt kicked out, trying to lunch her off, but the ground started to grow soft. Venus's spiked boots rushed over. The ground grew soft, and plants whipped themselves over Holt before he could react. Holly was gone now. The only thing holding Holt back was a bunch of stupid plants. Some hardened into wooden tree roots, preventing him from moving. He felt the weight over him increase, and knew that it would be fruitless to struggle. Even with the strength of seven human men.

So Holt stopped moving. He heard talking above him, likely the others wondering if he really was caught. He smirked. Jackson had never stopped panicking. Green leaves poked at every inch of Holt, and he took a moment to resent Venus and the others for turning on him. They just didn't see the right of things.

"Don't count me out just yet," Holt murmured to the people above, though they couldn't hear him. It might be harder to burn living plants, but it wasn't impossible.

Heat. Heat. Holt's vision turned orange as he wrapped as many flames as he could muster around himself. They licked through the stupid plants in a matter of seconds. He leaped up from the charred remains, ash caught in his hair, and ignored Venus's scream. Maybe it was pain, maybe it was horror. He didn't really care.

Holt had lost his multi tool somewhere, but he was far from helpless. Heath had abandoned the humans, he noticed with amusement. They were pulling frantically at the vines that still held 'Etta hostage, while she tried to tell them to go. Little progress had been made. Holt prowled closer, and 'Etta called out a warning.

"Run!"

But they didn't. Holt reached out for the girl's neck and she stumbled away in fear...

White filled his eyes, adding to his headache. The boy had hit the back of Holt's head with something heavy. A disturbing coolness wrapped around his outstretched wrist and yanked it away. When Holt's vision finally cleared, he felt the leather of his headphones slide off his ears, exposing them to the cold. He froze, still barely hearing the beats coming from the small speakers behind his head. He began to feel the drag.

Holt spun to see 'Etta, her legs still wrapped in greenery but her arms now free, holding his red headphones. A red cord connected her hand to Holt's jacket, but it wasn't enough.

"You little - " he snarled, but that was all he got out before he was gone.

* * *

 _ **AN:** hi it's me again. That was dramatic, wasn't it? u_


	11. Announcement (to be deleted soon)

Hello! As you may have guessed, this week won't have an update. Sorry. :( I don't have as much time on my hands as I did when I whipped out the first part of this story. I will also not be posting an update next week (February 1).

But! I will have more story to come. I'm trying to write as much as I can so as I edit, I'll have more continuity and better quality overall.

This week, I've just got a little bit of worldbuilding notes to share. ( _This announcement will be deleted by the time Feb 8th rolls around and this is updated again_.)

 **Names**

I've been changing a lot of names, if you haven't noticed, though it's often been written off as nicknames. I feel like a lot of MH canon names are really bad puns. That's probably what they're supposed to be, but this AU is a little different and punny names just don't really fit. So far I've got two big departures:

'Etta = Operetta

Holly = Howleen

A few more may be showing up (I haven't decided if some of these will make cameos yet)...

Giullia = Ghoulia (I wanted to keep some of the spelling and visual indicators but give her more of a real name)

Kay = Frankie (this one is a bit of a stretch, but I really feel like this is a good one. Kay, like the name Frankie, is preppy, not too common, and connotes a strange sort of girl.)

Dena = Clawdeen

Lia = Draculaura (I know, I know, I could have just named her Laura, but "Lia"... somehow fits in my mind. She deserves more angst. Just saying. As in - what happened to her to turn her vegan? Mwahahahaha)

 **Places**

The actual canon does a pretty good job, I think, of conveying a giant school, fairly hostile but normal town, and community of monsters. I turned the school into a boarding school, so we can have excuses for why parents don't show up. I'm also trying to make the school feel a little bit older and a little bit more Haunted, with cobwebs and staircases and floating candelabras and scary doors and passages and deep, dark, labyrinthian catacombs. If monsters in general are "gothier" than the normal populace, then they'd likely try to cultivate a purposeful darkness and intentional air of neglect, adding to the seeming age, size, and mythos of the place. Adding in that their grandparent's generation was at war with humans once upon a time gives some excuses for human deterrents and for why nobody really goes up there. Also, the locker hall is pretty cool, I think. Infinite abandoned lockers that may or may not have portals and time traveling capabilities. There's a lot of complex parts to the building of Monster High, and I wanted to explore that and exacerbate the darker parts.

If you can't tell, I like the darker stuff :)


	12. Home Again

Everything hurt.

Everything.

I groaned at the new aches I'd gotten while under. My head felt horrible. Some bruises on my back lingered. What had happened to my elbow? It felt hot and swollen. That idiot Holt was awake too, storming around and yelling incoherently. I ignored him, of course, instead doing my best to remember what had happened.

There was fire, some fighting. Nothing I hadn't expected. I opened my eyes to see a bunch of blurry things. It was brighter, and didn't seem to be the catacombs anymore. Strange. Even if my memories of _his_ time weren't ever very specific, I thought I usually noticed when we went places. Guess not.

"Jackson!" said the purple and red shape next to me, sounding excited.

I winced at 'Etta's volume. "A bit quieter?"

"Sorry. Jackson!" she repeated, just a little softer. I would have rolled my eyes if I didn't think that would exacerbate my headache. I got my elbow under me and sat up a little. Everything was still blurry. I rubbed my face, and realized that my glasses weren't there, which would have explained it. I desperately hoped they hadn't been broken.

"How ya feeling?" asked Clawd on the bed next to me. He was doing his best to keep quiet, but it sounded painful. _He_ surged in betrayal at the voice.

"Not too hot," I answered truthfully. With my eyes more used to the light, I could see that there were a few people in what appeared to be my room. "Anybody seen my glasses?"

"Oh - here - " 'Etta handed them to me and I slid them on.

I looked around my room, not quite understanding despite being able to see. 'Etta was on the ground, and Clawd was on it with me like I'd noticed before. Clara was there on the ground, too, but I didn't see Nick anywhere. _He_ wasn't pleased with any of them, which probably meant I could trust them. There were... a lot of people squished in my tiny room.

"It's probably a good thing I don't have a roommate to bother," I remarked.

'Etta rolled her eyes. Her elbow was up on the bed and her hand was supporting her head. I noticed with dismay that she had a new bandage wrapped around her arm where I had... well, where _he_ had burned her.

I looked at the wall instead, changing the subject in my mind and trying to forget the way that _he_ chuckled at the sight. "So what happened, anyway?"

"You, uh, you passed out," said Clawd, still attempting to keep his voice low. "And... we're sorry about not listening."

"Yeah, well..." I muttered, but I couldn't think of anything to say. In the silence, sound leaked through my door and I realized where Nick had gone.

"Thanks, Mom," he said from the hallway, presumably into a phone. I strained to hear the person on the other end, and could barely make out a few words.

 _"Just make sure... with Clara... smart and safe, okay, honey?"_

"Mom! We're not even dating!" Nick's exasperated voice, though low, came clearly through the thin door.

 _"Of course, honey,"_ came the pandering reply.

Grumbling, Nick came back into my room. He shut the door behind him, and froze when he saw us all watching him. Red bled into his face.

"It's kinda layte, darlin'," 'Etta said, kindly breaking the ice. "Whay aren't you two home yet?"

"It's Friday. Long weekend," Nick mumbled, and went over to sit by Clara. After a moment, he scooted farther away from her, as if realizing that he might be validating what his mother had said.

Clara smirked. "We've got all weekend. Nick's mom thinks we're having sex, so she'll come up with a nice, believable lie to tell my parents." Nick's face was redder than Holt's jacket, though Clara remained cool and amused.

"Hey, whatever works, man." Clawd didn't look the least bit uncomfortable, whereas 'Etta's lavender skin was slowly shifting into the redder realms of magenta. She cleared her throat and changed the subject.

"So what're we doin' now?"

Nick, Clara, 'Etta, and Clawd all turned to look at me. I shrank back. _He_ sneered at the childishness of it, which didn't make me want to be more mature at all. "What?" I whined.

"Dude," said Clawd with a concerned sort of look. He turned a little to see me better. "We do want to help, but this... this is kind of _your_ problem. You're going to have to tell us how we can help."

I deflated and picked at my shoelaces, having half a mind to take my sneakers off. "I have absolutely no idea." _I always thought something like this would happen,_ I added in my head. _He_ heard me, but didn't react much. Maybe he thought it, too.

"Okay," began Clara. "We can take this logically, one step at a time. So... the personification of your evil side takes over when music plays." She spread her hands. "Good summary?"

"As good as any," I replied, still looking down.

"So you need to avoid music," Nick said. "Simple."

I glanced up, raising an eyebrow. "Simple? You try doing it. That barely works for a few days at _max_. Believe me." Really, hadn't Nick _seen_ how well that had worked out for me, even a few minutes ago? Or however long it had been?

Nick bit his lip and hesitated. "What if you couldn't hear... _anything_?" _He_ picked up again, swirling around with anger and some nervousness.

"No!" burst 'Etta, looking aghast. Her horrified eyes jumped from Nick to me and back again. "Ya can't seriously think that's a good idea?"

"I've thought about it, and I know what to do to make it happen," I said slowly, shrugging. "But there never seemed to be a very good reason for it before."

"I don't know if that's a workable solution," Clara added. "It would mean a total change in lifestyle and everybody would know what you'd done. I don't think it's a good idea." Her expression told a different story, though, as if she were already mourning the loss.

Clawd shifted uncomfortably and piped in. "Yeah, I dunno, man."

"I'm sure we can come up with somethin' else," 'Etta insisted.

"Sorry!" Nick threw up his hands defensively. "I'm just brainstorming!"

I scowled to myself. "It's deaf or dead," I muttered darkly. Everybody went quiet.

After a moment, 'Etta opened her mouth to say something, but Clara, not looking, beat her to it.

"What if you're separated?" she asked timidly.

I sighed. She didn't know as much as she thought she did. "Don't you think I've thought about that, Clara? I can't do it. The closest anybody has ever come was Dorian Harlowe, and his... well, _creations_ , barely stayed stable. None of my original concoctions seem to do anything, either."

"What if it's nawt a science thing?" 'Etta said to nobody in particular. She seemed thoughtful. "What if it's a magic thing?"

"Sure, magic, why the heck not?" Nick mumbled.

"That doesn't really help," I replied to 'Etta, ignoring Nick. "I only got a B in the intro to magics class and I haven't taken anything since. M-sci is so much more my thing."

"Only a B?" Clawd mocked. I pouted and opened my mouth to defend myself.

"You know who _does_ know magic, though?" 'Etta cut me off, her eyes gleaming conspiratorially.

I was almost afraid to ask. Her look gave me the heebie-jeebies. "Who?"

She smiled. That was even worse. "Giullia."

* * *

 **(A/N):** _Oh my goodness, you guys, this chapter freaking KILLED me. I stayed off for like four weeks rather than two. I'm really sorry, but I hope that it's worth it. I'm pleased with how this is moving. Thanks a lot for reading, you guys. Follow and comment if you liked it so I know if there's still somebody out there... O.O_


	13. Chapter 13

I haven't updated in a while. As you may have noticed. (Sorry.) I have more written, and I'm almost to the end, but every time I reread what's here I cringe. There are a lot of mistakes and inconsistencies and pacing issues. I'm really quite unsatisfied. So, here's what I'm going to do: I'm gonna leave this here to languish after posting the roughs of the next section. When I finish the first draft, I might post them here, but I won't bother polishing them up. I'll edit the entire thing as one whole, then publish it again one (heavily revised) chapter at a time, likely under a different title. I've just been seriously postponing updates because I hate what I've written before. This story has taught me a lot of things about writing, but that doesn't mean I want it to be horrible forever. :) so! On with the next updatey thing... (and sorry about the funky formatting. I'm just copy/pasting this rather than retyping.)

Reminder: this is completely rough

* * *

She smiled. "Giullia."

I paused, thinking. Magic had crossed my mind, but asking somebody for help hadn't. Giullia, huh? She was extremely well-read, and while I consistently outperformed her in mad science, she definitely took the cake when it came to methodical magic.

"Fine," I agreed. "Giullia. But Giullia /only/, 'Etta, okay? Have her meet me in the venomous rosebushes or something." I tightened my shoelaces and reached around a surprised 'Etta to pull the rose repellent from my nightstand drawer.

"Raght now?" 'Etta blinked.

Clawd hadn't been expecting that, either. "You sure you don't wanna wait until... tomorrow?"

"No, I _don't_ want to wait until tomorrow. It's Halloween. And the faster this gets done, the better," I snapped. Then I sighed. "Sorry, guys. I'm a little high-strung, is all."

"No kidding," mumbled Nick with a hint of a chuckle, probably not aware that everybody in the room could hear him. His statement was punctuated by a sharp " _Ow!_ " Clara had probably hit him somewhere.

'Etta took a deep breath and stood. "Yeah, I'll go get 'ir now. Are you certain this is the way ya want ta go?" She eyed me carefully.

Without hesitation, I nodded. "Yes."

She waited for a further explanation, but I didn't give her one. /He/ was distracting me a bit by /agreeing/ to the plan. What? I hadn't notice him go quiet during the last little while, but it appeared that he'd been carefully listening to us. 'Etta left as I blinked. She'd given instructions to Clawd to keep an eye out for trouble, and to get Nick and Clara away if there was. /I'd/ live through a semester of detention and forced service, she reasoned, but who knew what would happen to them?

After shaking myself back to the present, I opened the bottle of rose repellent and rubbed some of the green lotion stuff onto my ankles and neck and arms. It didn't smell like anything to me, but leaning over by the door, Clawd wrinkled his nose.

"Smells like cough drops in here," he complained.

I shrugged. "No getting around it. I don't exactly fancy spending a week at the nurse's because I got bitten by a rose."

"Roses don't bite," Nick interjected loudly. He'd gotten tired of sitting on the floor and was now trying to sit on the wall. Or something. I didn't really know what he was doing.

"These ones do. And their venom is pretty fierce," I explained, slapping the bottle's cap shut. "It took me a good semester of undercover investigating to figure out how to make this repellant. The roses don't care about the dead, but they'd definitely give me a case of the hives if given half the chance."

Only a few minutes later, and 'Etta had texted me. /She's on her way./

I was on my way, too.  
-

The blue rosebushes smelled just a little too sweet for my taste. I was glad I'd used the repellent, but even though the rose heads stayed at least a foot away from me, they still followed me like they were watching. I shifted uncomfortably in the cool breeze, feeling him sit in my head. He was angry but calm at the moment.

Luckily, it didn't take too long for Giullia to show up. The waxing moon shone oddly on her pale blue skin, but that was just probably because it was dark. Around her, the roses didn't even react to her presence. She stopped a good few feet away from me and crossed her arms.

"Hh?" she asked suspiciously. What? "I'm only here because 'Etta begged me to come." Her lips, like the rest of her, moved slowly. There was a reason Zombie language class was required. Fortunately for my schedule, though, I'd become fluent as a kid, due to a few friends I'd had.

"I am so glad you're here," I replied. Lie, he told me. Yeah, no. As my mind whirred, trying to come up with a way to word the situation, my shoulders rose and my hand reached up to grab a handful of my hair. "I need your help, Giullia, I can't do it. I can't - I'm scared that - I - " I had to stop talking or risk hyperventilating. Though I'd been able to keep a tight lid on it earlier, frustration was pouring out of me now.

"Eh hhi," Giullia interrupted. Calm down., she said I swallowed and looked up. Her blue eyes were slightly glassy, a consequence of, you know, dying, but warmth sparked behind that. "Does this have something to do with you getting arrested for vandalism?"

I had to take a moment to process her words. Vandalism? Oh yeah, the human high school had been painted on. The cops picked him up and let me go and that's where this whole thing started.

"Yeah," I said. "It does." I launched into the story, probably giving more details than necessary. With a little hesitation, I told Giullia about Nick and Clara. Despite /him/ constantly telling me to lie, I told her the entire truth: how I got stuck at the school, how I got down in the catacombs and accidentally led two humans to our school and the trouble I got them in, then how Holt was being violent and there wasn't any way to stop it except...

"Well, the best solution would be separation," I finished. "M sci isn't working, but I haven't tried magic too much. I think... I think you could help."

Giullia took in the entire story silently, encouraging me to continue when I faltered. When I mentioned the problems I was having with /him/, she looked more frightened than I thought she would. At the end, she thought for a moment, nodding.

"/I can help,/" she agreed. "/But what exactly were you thinking?/"

"Um... Harlowe's Theorem," I admitted. "I know, I know, I'm crazy, but I really think it's what will work!"

Giullia gestured to me with an errant, limp hand. "/Yeah, it/ is /crazy! Jackson! It can't work!/"

"But what if it does?" I argued, suddenly determined to defend my idea. "I know it's crazy, but it's the only chance we've got. Unless Clara and Nick move to freaking /China/, Holt'll find some way to kill them."

She looked away, but it wasn't all just frustration with me. Her eyes were far away, and I bet she was running through a textbook in her head or something. "/You know... you might be right/," she said slowly. "If we used Harlowe's combined with cloning and electricity... Maybe we should ask Kay and her dad? They might be able to help."

"No!" I said right away. "We can't tell anybody. I don't want Clara or Nick or even /me/ to get in trouble. It was even a risk asking you to help."

"/Obviously," Giullia snarked, raising her eyebrow at me. "/You didn't spill your guts or anything."

I sighed and walked past her to the edge of the rosebush patch. "That was important, okay?" Nervous now, I looked over at her. "Are you gonna tell anybody?"

"No, don't worry." Giullia joined me, and seeing that there was nobody around, we crept from the rosebushes. "I'll help, but, Jackson..." She put her hand on my arm. "I can't guarantee anything."

"Of course not," I was quick to assure her. "I'm not even sure /I/ want to do this. For what it's worth, though, thanks. Welcome to the team."

Nearly back to the boy's dorm building, Guillia said quietly, "/Jackson..."

"What? Is something wrong?" We both stopped in the stairwell.

"If you /are/ separated... will you be totally human?"

Not necessarily. Isn't his mom a fire demon or something?

I paused, thinking, and began climbing the stairs, going slowly for Giullia's sake. She couldn't go very quickly, another side effect of being dead. "Maybe I'll be completely human. I mean, that's the point of Harlowe's, isn't it? Separating the monster from the human?"

"I... I assumed you wanted to alter the formula to be something else... separate the good and the bad, maybe? Isn't that what you are?"

"It is, yeah, but how would we alter the formula?" I asked, not disagreeing. "We barely know how the vanilla version works, and that's not even for sure. And, anyway, I am separated already, so I'm betting the normal version will work better on me."

"But, Jackson. Will you be kicked out of school or something if we go through with this? Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

I smirked as we reached the first landing. "So you /like/ competition in m-sci?"

"Oh, come on. That's not what I'm saying," Giullia said, rolling her eyes. She smiled, too, though since her muscles (except her brain) were slow to react, it came out limp and a little frightening. I'd gotten used to it, though. I hadn't become fluent in Zombie with Rosetta Stone or anything, for crying out loud.

"I don't know if I'll have to leave," I answered honestly. It hurt a bit to say it. Monster High was my home. I didn't want to go away, but if we pulled this off, it was a real possibility. MH was for /monsters/, not half-humans. Even though my mom was a monster... I really didn't know.

"But that's not the issue," I continued, both telling myself and Giullia. "I don't know why Holt's gone off the rails all of a sudden, but I can't just walk around with a bomb inside my head that everybody knows how to set off!"

"You could tell them," Giullia suggested. We stepped off the last flight of stairs into a hallway.

I scowled at the floor, imagining it. "No, I couldn't. Everyone would want to 'test' it, like Cleo did. It wouldn't turn out well."

"She's really upset about that, you know," Giullia said quietly as she shuffled along the worn carpet. "She was shopping online again."

That made me snort. "At least I'm stimulating the economy."

"Hey, be nice. That's her method of coping." Giullia gave me an annoyed look, and my face turned red. "It's healthier than, say, yours of disappearing for days on end and not answering texts."

It was my turn to be defensive. "Hey, I've got my reasons."

Giullia rolled her eyes at me. "I'm sure, but that isn't going to stop me from trying to help you."

"Good luck," I told her. We'd reached my door, and I could hear the tinny sounds of a video playing on the other side. I started to reach for the handle.

"Wait," Giullia said. I froze and watched her reach into a pants pocket. She pulled out a blocky device the size of a deck of cards that she hooked onto her belt. It was a real-time translator, so people who weren't fluent in Zombie could understand what she was saying. That done, she nodded at me, and I gave her a sad sort of smile back. She shrugged in response.

I finally turned the handle and held the door for Giullia to enter first. She gave me a Look as she passed. Yeah, well, I knew she sometimes got annoyed with that stuff, why else would I have done it in the first place? I was glad she didn't decide to argue with me about it right now, though.

'Etta's head popped up when the door opened, and the video's music shut off immediately. She was holding her phone in her hands, showing Nick something that sounded suspiciously like a rock concert. She glared at Clawd, who was next to the door and not particularly paying attention.

"I told ya to keep an eye out," she scolded.

Clawd raised a finger. "Correction: an ear out. And I knew it was them. What did you want me to do?"

"Let me know so I coulda turned this off earlier!"

I rolled my eyes at them and interrupted. "Nick, Clara, this is Giullia. Giullia, Nick and Clara."

Clara had been laying down on the ground next to my dresser, but she shook herself and stood to shake Giullia's hand. "Good to meet you," she said. If she noticed that Giullia was cold and dead, she didn't say anything. Giullia smiled back.

Nick just nodded. "Hey."

I opened the closet and grabbed an empty backpack while trying to keep anybody from seeing the mess. "Okay," I said to everybody. I turned around to address them all at once. "This is probably gonna take all weekend. You guys good with that?"

There were nods and agreement all around. I was so lucky to have the friends I did.

"Thanks, guys." I smiled. "So… I know you've seen my secret lab, Giullia - you've pranked it." She smirked at the memory, and I stuck my tongue out at her for a second before continuing. "Do you think it's a good place? Did you teach anyone else how to hack the lock since I reset it?"

—

Giullia spoke for the first time since entering the room. "It's the biggest secret room I've seen down there, Jackson," she said with a raised eyebrow. She'd leaned against the dresser with her elbows up on top of it. The translator in her hand dangled down and crackled to life a moment after she began talking, spitting out words in robotic, toneless English. The lag was annoying. She continued. "And don't get a big head here, but it still took me a good few minutes of hacking to break in. If I'm not mistaken, you've added security since I was there, so I think you're okay."

I smirked and waited for the translator to be done before replying. "Too late. Head big. My lab's the perfect place. Now - "

"Hold on, Jackson," 'Etta interrupted. "Ya have a secret lab down in the catacombs? One Ah've neva heard about?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I found a good-size cave a bit ago there, and it took me, geesh, like a whole year to teleport enough stuff down there. It's pretty awesome, if I do say so myself."

"Where?"

"You'll have to see, I guess, the directions can be a bit confusing." I shrugged. 'Etta rolled her eyes, but she didn't protest any farther. She waved her hand at me to continue.

"Yeah, okay, so - first of all, Clawd, we're going to need you to watch out for people. I have a security system, but it doesn't work as well as I wish it did… especially when it's more than just me in the lab, we run a risk of being found." Clawd nodded silently. I turned to Nick and Clara. "You guys will probably need to go to the hardware store or wherever, 'cuz I doubt I've just got all the stuff we need lying around down there. There are also probably a couple things we'll need more hands for."

"You got it," Nick said.

Clara nodded. "We'll help," she assured me.

I smiled back, grateful. "Thanks, guys. Means a lot."

"And what can I do?" 'Etta asked. She crossed her arms, one hand still holding onto her phone. "I'm nawt stayin' here when you're all down in a secret room!"

"Of course not," I said. "You can make out rhythms even I can't. You need to keep those quiet, whether it's water dripping or somebody tapping their foot. Just because Holt likes the plan doesn't mean he won't go crazy if given half a chance."

He huffed, but didn't protest. We both knew it was true. There was an uneasy sort of agreement passed between us - he wouldn't fight against me if I kept working on separating us, but if he had the chance, he'd push me under and try to attack the humans again.

'Etta's falsely petulant look turned serious. "Yeah, I'll do it."

"That's it, then," Giullia said. I winced to myself at the translator delay again. "We should head out in two different groups… I still remember the way, so I'll lead Clawd and Clara, and Jackson can take Nick and 'Etta. Does that work for everybody?"

"I guess so," Nick shrugged, while the rest of us agreed as well.

I ran around my room for a minute longer, stuffing a beaker, some spare sodium chloride pellets, a black candle, and two of my favorite m-sci textbooks into the backpack. Giullia gave me a weird look at the phenolphthalein I had her grab for me. So what if I had chemicals in my room? I didn't have a roommate to bother. I made a face back at her.

Only a couple of minutes later, Nick and 'Etta and I were sneaking quietly out of my room. I led them back down to the rosebushes, and though my repellant was wearing off, the fanged flowers still leaned away from me as I opened the well-worn trapdoor hidden in an empty patch. 'Etta went in first, having grabbed an electric lamp (probably from the boy's dorm's hallway), followed by an antsy Nick. I slipped in and shut the trapdoor softly behind me, only a little bit of soil falling through onto the dusty steps.

At the bottom, I edged past Nick to get in front of 'Etta, who was headed in the direction of her organ. My backpack scraped against the old, smooth walls.

"Not that way," I told 'Etta, grabbing the wrist that held the lantern.

She gave me a perplexed look. "But what otha way would we go?"

I pointed to our left, to a tunnel that was obscured unless you walked ahead of it and then turned around. Not very many people did that, since this section of the catacombs was relatively well-known.

"In there," I said. 'Etta swung her lantern in that direction.

"It looks way too small…"

"It's not." I took the lead, using the lantern's light behind me as well as memory of the uneven floor to avoid falling. "It's part of the natural caves here, but I managed to get a few skeletons through. Clawd might have to stoop, but the rest of you should be fine."

'Etta didn't stumble much on the rough ground, squeezing in between two walls of natural stone, but she obviously was used to the polished floors of the official parts of the catacombs. I hoped Nick wasn't claustrophobic. When I glanced back, though, he seemed fine, just annoyed at scraping his hand or something. We continued in silence for a bit, the only sounds our shoes scuffing on the floor and the rattle of the lightbulb in its casing. Eventually, the labyrinth ended into an empty cave. Water dripped from stalactites up above onto small, moundy stalagmites.

'Etta emerged and took a deep breath. She looked around the cave, but of course she didn't see anything. It was just an empty cave.

"What?" she said, not really talking to anybody in particular. She approached a wall and stroked the rock with her lilac hand, probably intent on figuring out whatever puzzle I'd set.

Nick came out of the small cave, too, but he didn't play around. He waited while raising his eyebrow at me, sure I'd reveal the game before too long. I thought I saw him begin to breathe harder, like he was suddenly nervous, and suddenly felt a little guilty. Nick had been a bit scared of the concept of monsters earlier, and here he was now, having followed two of them (well, one and a half) into a dark place that would probably be difficult to find his way out of. I swallowed and spoke quickly.

"Here's the cool part," I said. "Stay close behind me." With 'Etta and Nick on my heels, I turned completely around and entered another inconspicuous hole right next to the one we'd just left. Then I turned left. If normal physics applied here, we'd have joined the first tunnel, but of course things were weird down here. We stopped ten feet in front of a glass wall, set into the irregular stone formations. A frosted door was set into the middle.

"That… should not have been possible," Nick said flatly.

"Nope," I replied cheerfully. The door had a number pad, but I flipped up the false front to reveal a round combination lock.

—

After the combination lock, the handle swung outward, unattached from the door. There was just one more step - a password. I had no idea how Giullia had bypassed this part, since I'd coded it myself, but at least I'd reset it since I'd found that she'd replaced most of my chemicals with flour. Terrible. I shook my head with a smile, then typed my password into a small, homemade keyboard. Everything here was homemade, or at least stolen and put together by me.

Finally, the glass door opened with a hiss, releasing the familiar and comfortable smell of ethanol, with a hint of fire behind it.

"Tha' was plenty dramatic," 'Etta said. I flipped the lights on, trying to suppress a smug smile. She set the lantern down, not needing it anymore, and walked farther into the room while I unpacked the backpack. Nick entered, and a small red LED over on the security dashboard across the room started to blink. I dropped the bottle of sodium chloride to slam my hands on a button. The little cylinder holding compressed gas retreated back into the floor.

"Sorry," I apologized. "Security."

"Nice," Nick said, waving his hand in front of his face. He didn't sound angry, but he did roll his eyes. I hadn't expected much more from him, really. I went back to my backpack, unloading and organizing. I generally kept the lab pretty clean, but the last time, I'd had to run out quickly or risk being late to class, so there were still a few things left out.

'Etta paused in front of the security dashboard. "What's all this?" she asked, hesitantly poking a joystick.

I glanced over my shoulder and pushed my glasses up. "Just making sure the lab stays secret," I told her. "There are a few buttons that do scary things, so I don't know if you want to be doing that."

A small spark showed on one of the many screens attached to cameras all over the catacombs. 'Etta laughed nervously. "Heh. Yeah, I won't touch anything." She leaned in closer. "Hey, is that my organ? Why do ya have a video of it?"

"It's a live video," I answered distractedly, burning the ethanol off a few metal spatulas. "There are lots of cameras all over. You might be able to see Giullia and them coming towards us."

Nick joined 'Etta, watching the screens to see if they appeared. I assumed they did when Nick said, "Hey, there's Clara! Could we talk to them?"

I emerged from a cupboard, just having put a tiny centrifuge away. I shut the lid of the big floor one. "No. I've got microphones on a few... but only the ones over by the organ and a couple just outside the door."

"Tha's kind of creepy, Jackson," 'Etta told me. "I dunno if I want ta be watched like that."

"Don't worry," I shrugged. "They're off most of the time, anyway. I must have left them on from checking if school had started yet last week. It's mostly overkill." I kind of understood her worry, so I was trying to make her see that it was harmless. At the same time, though, I couldn't see why she was concerned. It wasn't as if anybody but me had access to those cameras or the video they took. Well, me and maybe Giullia, depending on if she could hack those, too, or not.

"I'll turn them away if you want, though," I added distractedly, folding up a piece of metal scaffolding stuff I had been using to keep a beaker above a burner when all my ring stands had broken. I really needed a new one.

"Maybe I do."

"I think they're here," Nick said. I turned to see him watching a specific screen. "How do I let them in?"

"Uh... the blue button that says 'door'," I replied, trying to point at it.

His finger hovered over a blue button. "This one?"

"No, to the far right."

"This one?"

"Yeah, that should do it."

The door opened again, unexpectedly. It was lucky that it opened inward, or else Clara might have been knocked over with it.

"Wow, this is pretty sweet," she said, walking in and looking around. I smiled again, but went back to cleaning.

"Don't touch anything that looks like something," I warned, admittedly vaguely. Everything was pretty clean and off my workspaces, now, so I headed to the closet.

"That's helpful," muttered one of the girls. I was too busy digging stuff out of the closet. I moved bin after bin.

"Hey, Clawd, can you help me get this thing out of the closet?" I asked. He grunted in answer, but came over to move bins with me. Eventually, we dug our way to the back of the little storage room, and with Clawd's help, I was able to grab the huge cloning tube and lug it out to the main part of the lab. It was a stupidly heavy thing, one of the older models. I'd gotten it free when the upstairs m-sci teacher was going to get rid of it. It still worked, and I was planning on messing with the electronics a little to make sure it did. I'd need to do some fiddling to make sure it made a Holt rather than a Jackson, anyway.

As Clawd and I leaned the tube against the wall, Giullia pulled things out of a backpack I hadn't noticed her grabbing. There was a variety of things, like candles and a big spellbook. It was her prized heirloom copy, I realized, one that she used a lot but rarely took to class. It was full of the notes of witches before her, giving tips on specific spells. There was a lot of writing in that book. I'd blame those notes on Giullia's excellent performance in magics, but she had proved herself worthy when it came to newer spells, too, ones that weren't in her old one.

I crouched down to untangle the wires and plug some tubes into the outlets, noticing that my shirt had somehow gotten dirty. That might have been from the rosebushes... or from the cave... or maybe even from when I'd passed out. Speaking of passing out... I stood behind the cloning tube and surreptitiously watched my friends. (They /were/ my friends, right? I mean, I'd only known Nick and Clara for a few hours, but they'd been really nice and were willing to help me with this.) I glanced at my watch. Yikes. A little past midnight.

"Hey, guys," I said, breaking the silence that had reigned while I'd been totally absorbed in working. "If you go through that door on the left, you'll find a room or two with places to sleep, probably."

"Probably?" Nick muttered. "How do you get probably?"

"Thanks, Jackson," Clara said over him. She grabbed him and walked that direction.

I caught 'Etta's eye and nodded towards the door. "Hey, 'Etta. And Clawd. You both need sleep, too."

'Etta crossed her arms. "Yeah, but darlin', so do you and Giullia."

"Eh," said Giullia from her spot over by the counter. It came out of her translator the exact same way.

"And you need us to watch, too," Clawd added. "We're not just leaving you."

I scowled, but it didn't seem like they were going to leave me alone on this. "Fine. If you want caffeine, there's plenty in that fridge over there, but you've got to stay inside that red line. It's the food-safe area. Don't move things from one place to another, and always wash your hands."

Clawd stalked over to the area I'd indicated and opened a bartered mini fridge. "Dude, you weren't kidding about the caffeine." He happily pulled out a neon green can of energy drink and popped it open. "Thanks."

"That's a lot of rules," 'Etta commented, staying where she was but keeping her eyes on the contents of the fridge. "And that's not anything healthy."

I shrugged. "They're just normal lab rules. And what did you expect? Caprese salad?"

"Something more than Popstar drinks," 'Etta muttered. She entered the living area, which had a tiny kitchen, and shivered. After eyeing the strategically-placed air ducts I'd installed to keep airborne contaminants away, she ruffled through the drawers and found a small, mostly-used notepad.

"If we're staying a few days, we're going to need more than just energy drinks." 'Etta proceeded to write things on the notepad with some pen that was laying around. I resumed my work, trying to untangle the stupid power cord. How had this knot gotten so bad in the first place?

Clawd made a noise. "Eh, I'd say this is pretty good." He'd finished an entire can of caffeine already, and was looking a bit more bright-eyed. I honestly wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

'Etta snorted.

"If you're making a shopping list," Giullia called, though her translator didn't raise its volume very well. It was a good thing we all had good hearing. "I need to add a few things. Jackson doesn't exactly keep much velvet ribbon and fresh flowers around."

"Sure thing."


	14. To the climax!

Okay, so this is literally everything I have written up to this point. I won't be able to work on this much over the next two years, because I'll be away telling people about Jesus and all that. (I'm very excited to go, but sad to leave some of my projects, like this one, unfinished.) So this is likely the last you'll hear from me unless I find time to write another few thousand words before September, when I leave. I still really want to refine this story, because I love it a lot, but it's hard to write. So here we go! This gives away a lot of the plot points I've been writing towards but doesn't resolve many of the conflicts, sorry about that. (The formatting also took away all my italics and I'm not about to go through thousands of words to find them again.)

After a Popstar or two, I felt plenty awake. Maybe not as much as I should have - apparently I'd been having a lot of caffeine. The cloning tube hummed as it warmed up. I sat on the old couch I'd dragged from the dorms (not like they'd miss it, those ancient buildings were mazes of broken furniture) and let the caffeine soak in. Things were going pretty well. The only problem was that it was now officially Halloween, so the magic might be a little erratic until the next day.

Well, that, and 'Etta had already had to stop Clawd from tapping his claws on things a couple of times. For a tuneless werewolf, he had good rhythm. He chose to play with the security equipment instead, and though I had reservations at first, after watching for a little while, I was more confident that - while he didn't know exactly what he was doing - he wouldn't mess things up too badly.

Before I'd realized it, a full hour had passed and the cloning tube was ready. Despite her earlier stubbornness, 'Etta was passed out on the sofa next to me. I grinned at her and stood up slowly so as to not disrupt her. The grocery list she'd written fluttered to the ground as her hand finally relaxed enough to drop it, so I picked it up and set it on the counter on my way back into the lab proper.

Giullia had spent the time writing pages of spell. And drawing things, it appeared. She'd found the stash of squid ink I kept for the rare magical needs around here, and had gone ahead and somehow drawn glyphs on the cloning tube's nonfriction surface. I commandeered a different section of the counter, and gathered up some agar, various enzymes, and a gel box. Due to superenhanced PCR, I soon had a good amount of my own DNA in a little tube. I set it in the lab's superfreezer, ready to go when Giullia was. Of course, first we needed to perform the Harlowe experiments, but even I admitted that I should be more awake for that. It was the truly tricky part.

After telling Giullia and Clawd where I was going - as well as making sure Clawd knew the dangerous parts of the security system - I left the lab and started down the hallway that Clara and Nick had disappeared to. There was more than one room down here, barely. I hadn't left much space for luxury, since the lab itself was the luxury. Well, the lab and Holt's entertainment system. That was all his doing, though, and I knew that he liked having a place to himself that even I didn't mess with, like he didn't mess with my lab. I didn't go for that, though - Holt would never forgive me for touching his stuff, and I wasn't about to open the door and set off whatever traps he'd laid for me. It was still dangerous to let him out.

He pouted at me when I passed his door, but I just shrugged. Inside, though, I was a little glad that he was acting like his normal self. My hope that he was becoming less aggressive was dashed, however, when the sounds of Nick and Clara, definitely asleep, filtered through the second door. Holt began his weird raging again. Something was up with that. It didn't feel like him. I wasn't him, but I knew him pretty well, and while Holt was kind of a jerk and sometimes a bully, he wasn't murderous. Or, rather, he hadn't been until yesterday afternoon inside the catacombs.

I scowled, trying to figure out what it could be. Either way, we couldn't stay like this forever. I couldn't avoid music for the rest of my life. I dropped face-first onto the secondhand bed I'd dragged down here into the third room and let myself fall asleep.

* * *

The next morning, 'Etta pulled us all together in the little kitchen area. She'd slept all night on the couch, and at some point, Clawd had taken the floor. Giullia probably hadn't slept at all, but it wasn't as if she really needed it.

"All right, we've got a shopping list," 'Etta announced when I'd finally joined them, looking at the tiny notepad in her hand. I should probably get a new one soon. "Some things for the spell, some actual food - " She shot me a look. " - and a few other assorted things. I've never actually been to a human grocery store, but I think these are all things that should be in one."

Clara came to stand behind 'Etta and look over her shoulder at the list. "Yeah, probably. Looks more like a Walmart run than a grocery store, though."

"Stuff at Walmart is probably cheaper, anyway," Nick shrugged, picking at the black on his nails. It was chipping everywhere, and I made a mental note to vacuum the sofa when this was all over.

"Speaking of which…" 'Etta winced. "Y'all're gonna hafta contribute some money."

There was an awkward moment of silence as everyone suddenly remembered that oh yeah, money is a thing. We all froze.

Then Clara sighed and raised her hand. "Don't worry, I'll cover it," she said.

"I can't let you just - " I began, but cut off when Clara sent me a cool glare. Her eyeliner was smudged, but it looked like it was that way on purpose, and made her even more menacing.

"I've got it," Clara repeated. "My family's not exactly… poor. I pull cash out of the allowance they give me for sensitive things. It's untraceable, technically already spent as far as the accounts are concerned."

"Yeah, she's got it," Nick agreed. He grinned when Clara kicked him from across the sofa.

"If you insist…" I said slowly. They'd already sacrificed to help me out. I didn't really feel comfortable taking advantage of them like that.

Clara returned her yellowish eyes to me. Her glare really was unnerving. "I do."

"Then here," 'Etta said, holding the list out for Clara. "I can lead you to any of the catacomb portals in town, if you tell me where you need to go. I'll take you two up there, and the nerds can stay here and do their thing."

We all glanced around at each other, then shrugged. The decision was unanimous, with the exception of Clawd. He insisted on going with 'Etta, Clara, and Nick, saying that the lab had enough security but he wanted to make sure the others were safe. 'Etta argued, but she was overruled. Giullia and I sent the four off, and I watched them through the lab's cameras until they were too far away. I was working on expanding my network, but it had never been my top priority.

"Okay, Giullia," I said, turning from the cameras. "We should probably start the Harlowe experiments now."

Giullia spun on her stool to face me. "Just wait a moment for me to put up some magical wards," she said, having taken her translator off when the others left. "I just want a safety net before we start." She waved her fountain pen in the air and went back to the symbols she was drawing on thin pieces of paper.

"But we can stop Harlowe's at any point," I argued. "Every step is essentially just preparation, up until the end. The magical wards are redundant."

"We're doing something that's never been done before, not successfully, anyway. You're my friend, forgive me if I want to keep you safe and sane." Giullia's tone was acerbic, warning me not to contradict her. I backed off, though I didn't see the point. There wasn't any real risk in Harlowe's experiments until the end. A few monster scientists had successfully recreated the first parts without negative effect, so we knew that much for sure. It was the end… the physical separation of monster from human… that was risky.

When Giullia moved on from the paper to the floor, I retrieved the little tube of genetic material from the freezer and popped it into the cloning tube. The machine would keep the DNA cold until it was time to use it. I made sure the dials on the cloning tube were set and pressed the on button. In a few hours, the tube would be sufficiently cooled to begin the actual replication and protein building. I'd added some very specific grocery store multivitamins and amino acid supplements to 'Etta's shopping list last night, knowing that we probably wouldn't have access to the school's supply of cloning material. They were inferior, and the clone would be weakened and likely unstable for a few days, until it ate enough organic matter to fix the problems.

"Jackson." I had been so involved in my work on the tube that Giullia's voice actually startled me. I poked my head around the wires and pipes to see her on the ground in front of the security station. Her hands were covered in black squid ink as she spread it, finger painting-style, on the smooth floors. Right then, however, she was stopped and looking up at the screens.

"What?" I asked, not wanting to pause my work long enough to stand up and look at the screens myself.

"There's someone out there. Someone I don't recognize."

That probably meant that either some student's family had gotten out here, or a human had found their way into the catacombs. And they were close enough to be caught on my cameras.

I immediately let go, breath coming shorter and shorter, and crossed to the security station. It took a little effort to not step on Giullia's drying lines. She came up behind me, holding her dirty hands well away from her clothing.

"That one," she said, pointing towards a screen in the corner.

She was right. And it didn't look like a monster's family. It looked like a human boy was out there, looking worried but not like he was lost. After a moment's heartstopping searching, I found the camera that was being used there. Thankfully, it had a microphone on it so I could listen in. I routed the sound into the main speakers as quickly as I could, though my fingers stumbled with the urgency of it.

The speakers crackled to life, and a girl's voice rang out through my lab. She must have been off screen.

"Why - " There was a bang. " - isn't - " Bang. " - this - " Bang. " - working?! The stupid thing must be broken. What did you do, Jake?"

The boy onscreen held up his hands. "I didn't do anything," he said. "It was Mitchell here who actually rebuilt the thing!" The voice brought a memory of yesterday back. It was Jake, the jock who'd told me to never touch his jacket and banged me into the lockers. He was a bully. So why did he look so worried?

"I followed the instructions perfectly!" squeaked another voice offscreen. "It should be doing what it was built for."

"But it's not," sang the first girl menacingly. She entered the screen, pointing a finger at someone behind Jake, who just looked glad that the anger was on someone else for once. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail, and I was sure that her nails would be an inch long and sharpened. "The monsters here should be charging towards town right now! It's Halloween! There's a machine to make them aggressive! Why isn't it working?"

"I told you, I don't know!" Mitchell whined. The girl reached forward and tugged him closer. Jake backed away towards the top of the screen, and a little orange-haired kid entered our view. He held an old-looking book in his hands, and was leafing through the pages even as the girl held his collar. "This book says that when the machine is puffing one plume of steam per three seconds, it's working at optimal power. Right now, the machine is going at - " he paused and looked at something behind the girl, counting. " - one plume of steam every two and a half seconds. It should be fine! I don't understand…"

"Ugh." The girl shoved Mitchell away from her, and though he stumbled, he continued reading and looking up, checking the facts in the book with whatever was in front of him. With a flip of her ponytail, the girl turned her back on Mitchell. "Just get it working," she spat at him. "Today is Halloween, and we've only got this one chance to make this work. Me and my dad have been tearing down monsters for years - it's time I actually got to slide my knife into one. And don't forget," the girl continued without looking back. "Your grades and your future are on the line here."

Mitchel just kept flipping through the book, muttering to himself. He pulled a notepad out of who knew where and started writing things down. In the background, Jake looked like he wanted to disappear. After a minute of silence, I pressed mute and looked at Giullia.

"A human wants monsters to attack the town," I said disbelievingly.

"So she can kill us all," Giullia added. "And she's using some sort of steam-powered machine to do it."

My thoughts spun rapidly, going in too many directions at once. Tearing down the monsters for years, she'd said. The television ads Clara and Nick had mentioned? Propaganda pamphlets? Your grades and your future are on the line here. She had clout. Power. And the little nerd was probably afraid that failing a grade in high school meant that his future was down the drain, unless the girl had threatened him with something more worrisome than an F. What did you do, Jake? What had that girl done to make a bully like Jake, on probation from his sports team, participate in something like this then look so scared about it? It could have just been the monsters nearby that gave him that look on his face, but I couldn't be sure.

And then was the most worrisome part - The monsters should be charging towards town right now! There's a machine to make them more aggressive! It's not working at optimal power…

"More aggressive…" I wondered out loud.

"Holt," realized Giullia at the same time.

"That's why he's acting all weird! Giullia!" I spun to look at the mess we'd made of my lab. "This all might be unnecessary! If we could just dismantle that thing…"

"You know where it is, right?" Giullia asked. She looked up at the screen again, where nothing had changed. Mitchell still made notes and worked something out on his notepad, and Jake stood silently, though he'd pulled out a cell phone and seemed to be playing some sort of inane game.

"I know where all my cameras are," I replied, trying to hide the fact that my brain went blank at the question. It was true, I did know where I'd put cameras, but I didn't know off the top of my head where each screen was showing. I reached into a cabinet below the security station and pulled out a binder, where I'd stored a hand drawn map of the catacombs. It had landmarks, portals, and of course cameras, listed in a sort of index in the back. I quickly found the right camera number - 32B - and found the page it was on. The map said that the machine should be near the edge of town, a bit of a hike from where we were but on the way back. 'Etta and the others had passed that way when they left… I checked the clock. Wow, almost two hours ago now.

"So, we just… wait?" I said, watching the people on the screen do absolutely nothing. "And when they're gone, go see what we can do?"

Giullia looked concerned. "It doesn't look like they're leaving anytime soon. We've got to do something about him, but if that thing is really the cause and all this - " She gestured to the lab at large. " - is unnecessary…" I finished her thought in my head. We had to go find that machine now.

"I'll call 'Etta," I said, pulling my phone out. She didn't answer.

"That's okay, I'm sure there are a lot of reasons why she wouldn't pick up." I was mostly trying to convince myself. "Maybe her phone isn't even on, just in case, who knows?"

Giullia got my attention with a surprised noise, and an abrupt takeover of the controls of my security station. "I think I know why." The screen we'd been watching flicked over, the 32B camera now feeding to the larger screen in the middle where I normally kept live numbers and other, usually more important things. Mitchell had retreated to the far corner of the little cavern that the camera showed, keeping his old book and notebook very close. Jake looked much more aggressive, and stood firmly with his hands clenched. He still looked scared, but not timid anymore. The girl had come back into the frame, and was glaring at something we couldn't see.

Hesitantly, I reached over Giullia's hand to pan the camera. It was something I normally avoided doing, since the movement was loud, even if the cameras were a bit too small and too dark to be seen without knowing if they were there. Sure enough, the heads onscreen turned toward the sound, but I had the information I needed.

'Etta hadn't answered her phone because she was in the middle of a confrontation with the girl we'd been watching. Clawd was nowhere to be seen, but Nick and Clara stood near her, their arms crossed, as they talked at the girl and at Jake. It seemed they knew her, which sort of confirmed my suspicions about her having power and popularity. And if they knew Jake, too - which I knew they did - this girl had to have been a student at the same high school.

The girl reached into one of her tall boots and pulled something shiny out. I was willing to bet it was a knife, and I desperately hoped that 'Etta wouldn't be the first casualty of a war that hadn't been active since our grandparents' times. Jake came to stand behind the girl, purposefully looking larger and more intimidating. To my relief, it seemed that none of my friends were taking it seriously. As well they shouldn't - 'Etta was a four, and Cl was bound to be around there somewhere. Even without him, I was willing to bet that those PE classes 'Etta was forced to take would pay off if she needed them to. She was better at it all than I was, anyway. Surely one of those martial arts styles would come in handy.

"I think we should go help," Giullia said, interrupting my thoughts and shaking me from my worry. She was already across the room, opening the door. After a glance at the camera map again, I joined her and armed the security system again.

As the door shut behind us and the lights clicked off, Giullia and I had already crossed into the empty cavern that led to the reality-bending tunnel that led to my lab.

Giullia told me to hurry, so it was with reluctance that I left her behind, but only after making sure that she knew where we were headed. Alone now, I picked up speed and dashed through familiar tunnels and rooms. The cave that the machine was in was far, but thankfully not across town, just the forest. I didn't have extra speed - especially with Holt holed up and pouting in the back of my head - but I was skinny and relatively athletic, so it didn't take me too long. I slowed when the voices I heard got loud enough that I could make out the words.

"You're aberrations," snapped a voice that I recognized as being the girl's. "You don't deserve to live."

"So what we do doesn't count?" asked 'Etta, sounding strained. That probably wasn't good.

The girl scoffed. "Of course not. It's what you are that I find detestable. That the world finds detestable. In this age of technology and communication, when war sparks again, humans will take sides, and my father and I will know who to kill. Those who sympathize with monsters must be monsters themselves. So who is it?"

"Who is what, Lilith?" Clara said dismissively. "Who is my monster ancestor? I don't have one."

"Impossible." I'd reached the cave, though I didn't immediately barge in. I crept along the side to peek in without immediately tipping my hand, and kept an ear out for Giullia.

It didn't look very good. The girl - Lilith - was standing wide, her ponytail unkempt and her knife tinted red. 'Etta was sitting on the ground and up next to the wall, Nick next to her and Clara in front of her, facing off with Lilith. A few yards away from them, a hulking brass machine rumbled, spitting out plumes of steam every few moments. I counted. The plumes were still two and a half seconds apart, good. Mitchell sat near the machine, though he didn't touch it and was a little distracted by what was happening in front of him. He had an electric lantern next to him that lit the rest of the cave with shadow.

"You're collaborators," Lilith spat. "There's some monster in your family tree, even if you don't realize it. They hide among real people, like the vermin they are." I couldn't see Lilith's face, but her voice's tone made it clear that she was glaring.

'Etta simply glared back, then coughed and drew back, breaking the eye contact. She pulled her knees toward her. My attention shifted to the rest of her, and my insides went cold. She was bleeding, which explained Lilith's knife. She could die.

I heard faint sound of running from behind me. I seriously doubted that anybody in the cave itself could hear yet, since full humans had terrible hearing and 'Etta was… otherwise distracted. I turned just in time to see Cl slowly round the corner, carrying Giullia. She didn't seem very pleased about it, and dropped from his arms the moment he paused. I waved to them, and Cl breathed a sigh of relief.

"When Giullia said you'd gone on ahead, I thought you'd have burst right in and made a mess," he whispered. "Thanks for not doing that."

"I was trying to think of something to do," I said. "I don't have a plan. 'Etta's down, and anybody that could do that needs to be dealt with carefully."

Cl nodded. "Yeah, I saw that. That girl was lightning fast. If she wasn't so vocal about hating monsters, I'd say she had a spot with us."

"Nick and Clara seem to know her," Giullia mumbled, keeping her voice down. She had her translator in her pocket, if the boxy shape bulging out was anything to go by - but it wasn't on. That was a major inconvenience for her.

I knew Cl didn't know her language very well, but still he nodded and replied. "I think they all go to the same school together."

"They know the big guy in the jacket, at least," I said. "I went to the school yesterday to avoid being arrested… again… and he decided to pick on me. Clara and Nick were there."

"So the ugly one would recognize you," Cl sighed. "But the little one wouldn't. Hey, Giullia, do you think you could get to the little one and get him to break the machine?"

Giullia inched past me and glanced into the cave, her face twisting in a grimace when she saw 'Etta. She turned back to us. "It's probably dark enough," she said, shrugging her shoulders for further confirmation.

"Then do it," Clawd told her firmly. "We'll watch out for you."

With a hesitant nod, Giullia agreed. She stuck to the side of the cave and walked slowly, very slowly, more so than normal, into the lit area. The combination of darkness and the speed made her nearly invisible. That was pretty much the only thing zombies had over humans - the ability to hide. Well, that and not dying, but that was an obvious one.

Clawd came up next to me, his eyes almost shining in the dim light. He didn't seem nervous, but I definitely was. Giullia moved steadily, and every moment I was sure someone would turn and see her. But nobody did. Even Clara and Nick seemed oblivious to Giullia's presence, and 'Etta wasn't looking. Thankfully, she didn't have to go very far. The cavern was bigger than the little passage Clawd and I were waiting in, but it still was half the size of a classroom.

If I had been in the habit of biting my nails, I would've done so as Giullia crept closer to the machine. She was behind Mitchell now, and beginning to lower herself down to reach the machine.

"Get ready," Clawd muttered, and I tensed. To my surprise, he actually offered to help, probably because fighting humans sounded appealing. Either way, I'd be grateful for the strength and speed he could lend me.

"Look," Lilith was saying to Clara, sounding impatient. "You're obviously mostly human, and if I destroyed everyone that had monster ancestors, we'd be wiping out a good number of people. You're redeemable. Move aside now and I'll spare you."

'Etta coughed. "Mostly human, huh? What would you do if I toldja I was only a quarter phantom, the rest being human?" She didn't sound very serious, but the volume of her voice was low, making me worry.

I didn't hear Lilith's reply, since Mitchell's sudden inhale startled my attention back to him and Giullia. He'd noticed her. I felt Clawd move up beside me, and Giullia froze.

"Wait, hold on," I heard Mitchell whisper very quietly, under Lilith's ranting. "I was just surprised, is all." He was… talking to Giullia. He hadn't raised the alarm yet.

"My grandma is like you, dead but not," Mitchell continued without fear. "Mom and Dad avoid her, but I go see her sometimes. It's not scary or dangerous or anything. I can almost understand what she says, now." He sounded proud of that fact. "So what are you doing here? Are you gonna help me fix this thing?"


End file.
